The newly appointed director of the Health Bureau (SSM), Alvis Lo Iek Long, said yesterday that a replacement batch of BioNTech mRNA vaccines – 20,000 doses – will be delivered to Macau in a few days, which would enable the bureau to resume its BioNTech inoculations early next week at the earliest.
Lo also said that the Macau government will discuss with the BioNTech vaccine supplier how to handle the remaining mRNA doses that have not been administered in the batch affected by packaging defects.
Lo made the remarks while speaking to reporters after his swearing-in ceremony at Government Headquarters.
The Macau and Hong Kong governments suspended administering BioNTech vaccines due to packaging defects on Wednesday last week.
Unlike in other parts of the world, US pharma company Pfizer is not distributing Germany’s BioNTech vaccine in Hong Kong and Macau, with Shanghai-based Fosun Pharma being the distributor for the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau.
Fosun Industrial Company Limited in Hong Kong informed the Hong Kong and Macau governments on Wednesday last week that packaging defects were detected in the vial caps of the BioNTech mRNA vaccines (validity period until June 2021) in Lot No. 210102. BioNTech and Fosun Pharma had launched an investigation into the cause of the problem, requesting the Hong Kong and Macau governments to immediately suspend inoculations with BioNTech jabs.
Two batches of BioNTech vaccines were delivered to Hong Kong from Germany, Lot No. 210102 and Lot No. 210104. All the BioNTech vials that had been delivered to Macau from Germany via Hong Kong are part of Lot No. 210102. Despite the fact that the vials in Lot No. 210104 are not affected by the packaging defects, inoculations with all BioNTech jabs were suspended in Hong Kong.
Fosun Pharma told the Macau government on Saturday last week that according to the latest findings of the investigation jointly carried out by Fosun Pharma and BioNTech, “no significant systemic factor that could cause the packaging defects during the vaccine product’s packaging process has been identified”. The findings did not rule out the possibility that the packaging defects were caused by “environmental factors in the course of the vials’ long-distance transport”.
In their investigation, Fosun Pharma and BioNTech have reaffirmed that there is no evidence indicating that the batch of mRNA vaccines that had been delivered to Macau poses a health risk.
Fosun Pharma and BioNTech said on Saturday last week that they aimed to complete the investigation within one week, which would verify whether the batch of BioNTech mRNA vaccines that is currently in Macau can continue to be used safely.
Lo was asked by the media about the resumption of BioNTech inoculations in Macau after having been sworn in by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U. The new health chief said that a batch of BioNTech vaccines will be delivered to Macau in a few days, with the aim of enabling Macau to resume its BioNTech inoculations as soon as possible.
“After the BioNTech vaccines arrive in Macau, we [the government] will resume the inoculations as soon as possible after checking them and confirming that they meet our safety standards. The inoculations could resume early next week at the earliest,” Lo said, adding that the new batch will have 20,000 doses.
According to Lo, the BioNTech jab supplier has told the Macau government that according to the latest findings of its investigation, the packaging defects affecting vials in Lot No. 210102 were generated in the course of their transport.
Lo underlined that while the packaging defects do not affect the BioNTech vaccines’ safety and effectiveness, a replacement batch will be delivered to Macau “for safety reasons”.
Lo also underlined that before administering COVID-19 jabs, Health Bureau medical workers always carefully check the vaccine vials for possible defects.
The Macau government’s COVID-19 vaccination drive started on February 9 with Sinopharm inactivated jabs covering those in priority groups such as those working on the frontline against COVID-19 and those working in occupations that are subject to a high COVID-19 risk. Inoculations for all local residents started on February 22.
After the first batch of 100,425 doses of BioNTech mRNA vaccines arrived in Macau from Germany via Hong Kong in late February, the city’s BioNTech inoculations started on March 3.
According to a Health Bureau announcement last week, a total of 6,215 BioNTech doses had been administered in Macau as of Tuesday last week, the day before the suspension of the BioNTech jabs.
Lo pointed out that his bureau has “sealed up” the BioNTech doses that have not been administered in the batch that is in Macau, before deciding whether to continue to use the vaccines that have not been affected by the packaging defects after discussions with the BioNTech vaccine supplier.
Lo also reaffirmed that for the time being the local government does not plan to cancel its purchase order of 400,000 doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford adenovirus vector vaccines.
New health chief’s appointment
According to an executive order published in the Official Gazette (BO) on Wednesday, Ao Ieong, who oversees the Health Bureau, has appointed Lo as its director for a one-year-term effective from yesterday. Ao Ieong signed the executive order on March 19. Lo succeeds Lei Chin Ion who is retiring.
According to the executive order about his appointment, Lo holds a bachelor’s degree in Clinical Medicine from Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences – which merged with Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou in 2001. Lo holds a master’s degree in Clinical Medicine from Peking University and a master’s degree in Geriatric Medicine from the University of Hong Kong, and a doctoral degree in Internal Medicine from Sun Yat-sen University.
Lo joined the Health Bureau in 2003 when he worked as an intern, before becoming a doctor in 2010. Lo was promoted to senior doctor in 2013 before he became head of the geriatrics department of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre in late 2015, according to Wednesday’s executive order.
According to the executive order, Lo became an assistant to the public hospital’s top management team in May 2019 – i.e. one of the three clinical directors of the public hospital.
Delivering a speech after having been sworn in by Ao Ieong, Lo, 40, said that his top task after taking office was to consolidate Macau’s achievements in its COVID-19 prevention and control work. Lo pledged that he will constantly improve Macau’s medical service “centred on patients”.
Lo, a pulmonologist, had been hosting almost all of the government’s regular COVID-19 press conferences since the COVID-19 pandemic early last year until early last month when local media outlets started to report his possible appointment as the bureau’s new director citing informed sources.
When asked by the media yesterday whether he has been appointed as the bureau’s new director due to his good performance in conducting the COVID-19 press conferences, Lo said that “you should ask my superior about this, it was not me who made the decision on the appointment of the new position”. Lo went on to point out that he started to be involved in the public hospital’s management work in 2015 when he started to head the geriatrics department, after which he also took up a number of senior positions in the bureau.
Newly-appointed Heath Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long (right) is sworn in by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U (centre) at Government Headquarters yesterday, witnessed by the chief-of-cabinet of Ao Ieong’s office, Ho Ioc San. Photo: GCS
Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long speaks to reporters after his swearing-in ceremony at Government Headquarters. Photo: Tony Wong
