Hong Kong approves Chinese vaccine
The Hong Kong government said on Thursday that it had approved the Covid-19 vaccine made by the Chinese company Sinovac, which has faced scrutiny around the world over its shipping delays and spotty data disclosures.
Health officials in Hong Kong said the first million doses of the vaccine, called CoronaVac, would arrive on Friday and that vaccinations would start next week with essential workers and people over 60.
Hong Kong is one of only a few governments in Asia to have approved CoronaVac for use. Other countries have said they want full trial data from the manufacturer. A recent poll showed Hong Kongers would prefer the Pfizer vaccine, expected to be available there in late February.
Context: Brazilian officials in January said that the efficacy rate of CoronaVac was just over 50 percent, lower than other vaccines. Sinovac gave government-appointed experts in Hong Kong data showing a 62.3 percent efficacy rate. The data was not released publicly.
Here are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.
In other developments:
■ Life expectancy in the United States fell by a full year in the first six months of 2020, the largest drop since World War II.
■ Apple is redesigning its syringe emoji to look more like a vaccine vial, citing rising use of the emoji over the past year.
■ Spectators were allowed back into the Australian Open on Thursday, hours after the state of Victoria ended a five-day lockdown.
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