BioNTech vaccinations will restart on Monday, Macau's Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced today.
According to a statement by the centre, 19,500 doses of the German-made mRNA vaccine were delivered to the public Conde de Sao Januario Hospital Centre. The shipment arrived from Germany via Hong Kong International Airport.
BioNTech vaccinations were suspended in Macau and Hong Kong on Wednesday last week after the manufacturer had detected packaging defects in some of the vials. However, a follow-up investigation by BioNTech in Germany in conjunction with its Shanghai-based distributor Fosun Pharma confirmed that the vaccines were not affected by the packaging issue.
New appointments for BioNTech inoculations can be requested from noon tomorrow. Those residents who had vaccination appointments before April 5 are required to make a new appointment. They will be notified by SMS from the Health Bureau to reschedule their appointment. Those with their first or second inoculation appointment for April 5 or afterwards will have their scheduled vaccination dates unchanged.
BioNTech jabs in Macau are distributed by Fosun Pharma.
Meanwhile, the centre announced in a separate statement that as of 4 p.m. today 53,626 COVID-19 vaccinations had been administered in Macau, resulting in 206 minor adverse events and one serious adverse event, or 0.05 percent of the total number of inoculations.
The statement urged residents to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus to protect themselves and others and to help create herd immunity in Macau.
COVID-19 jabs are free of charge for local residents, non-resident workers and non-local students. Macau has a population of about 680,000.
Macau confirmed its first novel coronavirus disease case on January 22 last year. All of Macau's 48 COVID-19 patients have meanwhile been discharged from hospital.
