About a week after the official vaccination plan was initiated, health authorities have revealed today (Wednesday) that more than 2,000 people from priority groups have been inoculated with the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine, with a total of 10,000 appointments already made by residents.
“Due to Chinese tradition, many people did not want to be vaccinated during the Chinese New Year period, so the number was affected by that. But we believe appointment numbers are still going according to plan […] Again we urge residents to get the vaccine so they can protect themselves and their closed ones,” Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre Coordinator Dr. Leong Iek Hou said today in a pandemic update press conference.
The total number of appointments made so far only represents about 1.4 per cent of the local 683,100 population.
The local vaccination program has been initiated on February 9 for priority groups after the first 100,000 Sinopharm vaccines doses arrived in the SAR, with some 4,300 people included in this group with bookings already made in the online platform set by authorities.
Priority groups include medical workers, immigration and customs officers working at the city’s checkpoints, police officers, firefighters; those working in occupations that are subject to high risks, such as aircrew members, public transport drivers, those working in the frozen food sector, teaching staff, the staff of social service facilities, and casino workers; and those who need to travel to high-risk areas.
Vaccination for priority groups, as for the remaining populations is voluntary, with health authorities previously noting that they currently have the capacity to carry out 5,000 Covid-19 vaccinations per day in 12 different locations per district, including the Conde S. Januario Hospital and other health centers.
When inquired on the total number of people included in the priority group, Conde S. Januario Hospital Doctor, Alvis Lo Iek Long, only stated that the vaccination process was still in its early stages and a full number could not yet be provided.
For other residents, registration is also available with vaccination to start on February 22, with 2,200 residents expected to be inoculated on that day.
Each person will receive two doses of COVID-19 vaccines within four weeks apart in general in order to get full immunity.
Health authorities noted that they do not yet have exact scientific data for the immunity period provided by the available Covid-19 vaccines, but with an estimated immunity period between 6 to 12 months.
“We don’t yet know the exact period of immunity,” Dr. Alvis Lo Iek Long stated.
The online platform allows residents to choose between three vaccine types but at the moment only Sinopharm vaccines available, while BioNTech vaccines will only be available in March and with Oxford-Astrazenca vaccines expected to arrive in June.
When inquired which was the most popular vaccine at the moment, Dr. Alvis Lo only stated that people who wished to be vaccinated earlier had chosen the Sinopharm vaccine produced by the China National Biotec Group (CNBG).
Non-residents residing in Macau, such as non-resident workers or students, will also be able to be vaccinated for free and if a non-resident worker is considered a member of the high-risk groups due to their job nature he will already be allowed to be inoculated in the first phase.
Any other non-residents legally authorised to remain in the city that falls outside those categories will have to pay vaccination out of their own pocket, a fee established at MOP250 (US$31).
The Macau government has purchased 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sinopharm; 400,000 doses of the mRNA-based vaccine by BioNTech, distributed in China by Fosun Pharma; and 400,000 doses of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca.
However, authorities noted that they will continue to purchase vaccines in accordance with the needs of epidemic prevention.
