Fosun app lets China users get BioNTech Covid vaccines in Hong Kong
CHINA’S Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group said users of its mobile health app in China can now register to take Covid-19 booster shots in Hong Kong using BioNTech’s vaccine.
The booster shots offered are recommended for those aged 18 and above and those who have completed their initial course of vaccination, according to the Shanghai-listed company.
The announcement came as mainland China took a major step towards easing Covid-19 border controls, with Chinese policymakers deeming the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus to have weakened in pathogenicity.
China has so far insisted on using only Chinese made vaccines – which are of the inactivated virus type and not based on the Western mRNA technology – for its own population.
BioNTech and its partner for China – Fosun – were granted approval for their Covid-19 vaccine that is adapted for the BA.4 and the BA.5 subvariants of Omicron for people aged 12 and older in Hong Kong, the German company said on Dec 23.
The vaccine is the first and currently only variant-adapted vaccine available as a booster dose for individuals 12 years and older that has been granted approval in Hong Kong, BioNTech said at the time.
GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Fosun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A shipment of BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines meant for German nationals in China arrived at the German embassy in Beijing last week as cases in China soared after policymakers dropped nearly all of previous epidemic control protocols. REUTERS
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Companies & Markets
Toymaker Hasbro posts quarterly profit beat, slower sales decline
CapitaLand India Trust Q1 net property income up 19%
Digital Core Reit Q1 distributable income slips 2.4% to US$10.6 million
Hilton lifts 2024 profit forecast on international travel demand
Asia stocks rise on Wednesday amid Wall Street rally; STI up 0.6%
Orsted says Taiwan wind project to power TSMC on track for 2025 finish