Hong Kong suspends BioNTech vaccination due to packaging defects

HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Wednesday suspended the vaccination of BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine due to problems with their vial caps.

The HKSAR government made the decision on receiving a written notice from Fosun Pharma, saying the packaging problem of the vaccines of batch number 210102 has been noticed.

German drug manufacturer BioNTech and Fosun Pharma are the developers of the vaccine.

BioNTech and Fosun Pharma said no safety risk was found in the product, but they called for an immediate suspension of the vaccination in the interest of prudence until an investigation is completed.

The HKSAR government said that all community vaccination centers will suspend the vaccination of the vaccine until further notice.

It is reported that the Department of Health of the HKSAR government will hold an emergency meeting with Fosun on Wednesday to further understand and follow up the incident.