Hong Kong Extends COVID-19 Vaccine Access via Donations and Self-Pay

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. today announced it would provide its CoronaVac® vaccine to self-paying groups in Hong Kong and confirmed a donation plan.

Additionally, the company will collaborate with local charity groups to provide donations, giving more children in Hong Kong access to free its inactivated original strains COVID-19 vaccine.

On March 31, 2023, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced that beginning April 20, 2023, high-risk groups would be able to receive free doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

Whereas low-risk groups, including children, can only receive their vaccines via the private market through self-pay.

"SINOVAC's ongoing fight against COVID-19 is based on our mission to 'supply vaccines to eliminate human diseases,'" said Yin Weidong, Chairman, President, and CEO of SINOVAC, in a press release on May 10, 2023.

"From developing the COVID-19 vaccine to obtaining market approvals, from the first CoronaVac® shipment landing in Hong Kong 800 days ago to the rollout of a massive public vaccination program, SINOVAC and Hong Kong have taken steps together to emerge from the shadows of the pandemic."

CoronaVac® is the first COVID-19 vaccine to be used in children from as young as three years old, under the World Health Organization's Emergency Use List.

As of March 2023, CoronaVac® has been authorized for use in more than 60 countries, regions, and international organizations. But not in the U.S.

The cumulative global vaccine supply exceeds 2.9 billion doses.