Addressing yesterday’s press conference about Macau’s novel coronavirus situation, Tai Wa Hou, a clinical director of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, said that from today those aged between 12 and 15 can also be inoculated with the BioNTech mRNA vaccine against COVID-19.
Previously, BioNTech jabs had only been administered to those aged 16 or over in Macau.
The Macau government first announced early this month that it will lower the minimum age for BioNTech jabs from 16 to 12.
Previously, according to Tai, those aged between 16 and 17 had to be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians when getting their BioNTech jabs at the city’s various inoculation facilities.
From today, Tai said, those aged below 18 who opt for BioNTech shots can also choose to go to the inoculation facility themselves by submitting an “informed consent form” that has been signed by one of their parents or legal guardian, in addition to the option of being accompanied by a parent – or legal guardian – to the vaccination facilities – where the parent or legal guardian has to sign the informed consent form.
All potential vaccinees aged 18 or over in Macau must sign an informed consent form at the inoculation facilities before being given their jabs.
From today, those aged below 18 who choose to go to the inoculation facility themselves for their BioNTech jabs can download the informed consent form from the website of the Health Bureau’s (SSM) COVID-19 vaccination programme and have it signed by one of their parents or legal guardian.
Two types of COVID-19 vaccines are currently available in Macau, China’s Sinopharm inactivated vaccine and Germany’s BioNTech mRNA vaccine. Sinopharm jabs are administered to those aged 18 or over in Macau.
Tai also pointed out that only three of Macau’s 17 inoculation facilities are used for BioNTech inoculations, namely the public hospital’s blood sample collection room, the Ocean Gardens Health Centre, and the Ilha Verde Health Centre. Tai also said that 800 places for BioNTech inoculations in total are now available per day at the three vaccination facilities.
As the Health Bureau has now lowered the minimum age for BioNTech jabs to 12, Tai said that health officials plan to visit secondary schools to brief pupils and teachers about the BioNTech vaccine’s safety and effectiveness. As secondary schools will soon have their end-of-term exams and then their summer break, Tai said that his bureau plans to carry out outreach COVID-19 vaccinations for the schools from September – when the new school year starts.
Possible entry curb relaxation b/w Macau & Guangdong & HK
Meanwhile, the Health Bureau’s Control of Communicable Diseases and Surveillance of Diseases Department Coordinator Leong Iek Hou said during yesterday’s press conference that the Macau government will consider whether to relax its current border entry curbs for those travelling between Macau and Guangdong, as COVID-19 transmissions have recently started to ease in the neighbouring province.
On Tuesday last week, the Macau government tightened the validity of the negative nucleic acid test (NAT) result for those travelling between Macau and Guangdong without having to undergo quarantine to 48 hours from the previous seven days, in response to the then relatively serious COVID-19 threat due to the province’s then somewhat serious COVID-19 transmission cases.
Leong underlined yesterday that the Macau government will constantly assess the COVID-19 risk to Macau from Guangdong before deciding whether to relax its current COVID-19 restrictions for those travelling between the two places. Leong said that the local government does not rule out the possibility of extending the current 48-hour validity of the NAT result for those travelling between the two regions if they have been fully inoculated against COVID-19 at least 14 days prior. But Leong was quick to add that for the time being this was just a proposal, which the Macau government would need to discuss with its Guangdong counterpart.
Leong also reaffirmed that Macau would start discussing “in detail” with its Hong Kong counterpart the possible relaxation of border entry curbs between the two regions but only after the neighbouring special administrative region has zero new local COVID-19 cases for at least 14 consecutive days. Leong noted that by yesterday Hong Kong had not recorded a new local COVID-19 case for 10 consecutive days.
Currently, all those arriving in Macau from Hong Kong must undergo 14 days of hotel quarantine.
Leong underlined that if border entry restrictions between Macau and Hong Kong are to be relaxed, the relaxations could only be carried out in a gradual way, such as whether those who have been fully inoculated against COVID-19 at least 14 days prior could have their quarantine period shortened after arriving in Macau from Hong Kong, or even could have their quarantine exempted. There would also possibly be a limitation initially on the number of those travelling between the two regions under the relaxed conditions after they got off the ground, Leong said.
53rd case confirmed
Meanwhile, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced in a statement late last night that Macau confirmed its 53rd COVID-19 case yesterday, a 59-year-old male tourist from Taiwan who flew to Macau yesterday. According to the statement, the man tested negative for COVID-19 in a nucleic acid test (NAT) in Taiwan on Tuesday, before catching a Starlux Airlines flight to Macau yesterday.
Two Health Bureau (SSM) medical workers unpack a box containing BioNTech mRNA vaccines in the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre in early April when the second batch of 19,500 doses was delivered to Macau from Germany via Hong Kong. Photo: GCS
