Hong Kong suspended vaccinations with Pfizer shots – known as BioNTech shots in the city – on Wednesday after they were notified by distributor Fosun that one group had defective bottle lids.
The suspension was immediate while Chinese pharmaceutical firm Fosun Pharma and BioNTech, the German company that created the vaccine with US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer, are investigating the matter, according to a statement from the Hong Kong government.
According to the statement, BioNTech and Fosun Pharma found no reason to believe that the product was unsafe. However, vaccinations will be discontinued as a preventative and safety measure.
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A healthcare worker at Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center receives COVID-19 a vaccination on December 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Nathan Howard / Getty Images)
The defective lids were found on vaccines from batch number 210202. A separate batch of vaccines, 210104, will also not be administered.
Macao also said on Wednesday that residents would not receive the Pfizer vaccinations from the group in question.
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All Hong Kong community centers administering the Pfizer vaccine have temporarily suspended vaccinations and residents who have already made appointments for Wednesday do not have to go to the centers, the government said.
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The suspension of the Pfizer injection point means that the only vaccine currently being offered to residents is the Sinovac vaccine in China. The only vaccines are the only ones offered to Hong Kong residents.