HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (third left) chats with healthcare workers of the Community Vaccination Centre at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre during a visit on March 10, 2021. Looking on are Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen (second left); Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee (first left); and Chairman of the Hospital Authority Henry Fan Hung-ling (fourth left). (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong started rolling out doses of BioNTech's vaccine on Wednesday as the city reported eight new COVID-19 infections, including six local cases, bringing its tally to 11,129.

Health authorities started using BioNTech shots under the city's COVID-19 Vacccination Programme, with nearly 40 people lining up outside the vaccination center set up at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre in Sai Ying Pun before it opened at 9 am.

Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor inspected the center and urged residents in priority groups to get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect both themselves and other people.

Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor inspected the center and urged residents in priority groups to get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect both themselves and other people

Lam said two vaccines currently available in Hong Kong, produced by Sinovac Biotech and Fosun Pharma/BioNTech, are safe and effective and have gone through expert assessment.

The HKSAR government has set up a surveillance system for the vaccination program, under which clinical incidents are reviewed by experts and related information can be published in time, Lam said.

More than 110,000 people in Hong Kong have taken the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccines under the government program starting Feb 26.

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A 68-year-old teacher surnamed Leung, who had high blood pressure, was among those who lined up at the vaccination centre in Sai Ying Pun and said it is everyone’s responsibility to take the shot for the sake of one’s health and society’s overall safety.

Leung said he decided to take BioNTech shots because of its “higher protection rate” and that he was not worried about its possible side effects. 

A 67-year-old security guard surnamed Lam said he had failed to book Sinovac shots and now turned to BioNTech jabs. He said the three recent deaths of people who got vaccinated had affected his confidence but there was no evidence showing a direct link between their deaths and inoculation. 

A 65-year-old woman surnamed Ching said she wanted to take the shots because she plans to visit her relatives in North America, adding that she was also not worried about possible side effects.

Three of the new cases on Wednesday were untraceable, the Centre for Heath Protection said in a statement. They included that of a 26-year-old project assistant, a 58-year-old company manager and a 27-year-old gym coach at Ursus Fitness in Sai Ying Pun.

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The CHP appealed to people who visited the gym from March 1 to Wednesday to contact health authorities.The fitness trainer last went to work on Tuesday after he got tested a day before, the CHP said. At least nine staffer members and customers of the fitness club also tested preliminarily positive for the coronavirus.

The two imported cases were both from the Philippines. 

An 86-year-old woman with chronic diseases died of COVID-19 on Wednesday morning after having been hospitalized since Feb 25, the Hospital Authority said in a statement. She was the city’s 203rd coronavirus-related fatality.

As of 3 pm Wednesday, all the 19 vaccination centers that distributed BioNTech doses still had available slots for jabs before March 31.

For Sinovac doses, most of the slots at 18 general out-patient clinics were snapped up, while a large number of shots were available at community centers.

Ho Pak-leung, director of the University of Hong Kong’s s Carol Yu Centre for Infection, said during a radio program that it is understandable that some residents would be concerned about getting vaccinated, and that the government could launch an education campaigns to allay their concerns.

With Xinhua inputs