Hong Kong leader, top officials receive COVID-19 vaccine

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and other government officials received a COVID-19 vaccine Monday as the city begins its inoculation program.

Lam and the city’s health minister Sophia Chan were among the first people to receive their vaccines in Hong Kong, after about a million doses of the vaccine by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech arrived in the city last week.

Hong Kong is set to begin its inoculation program on Friday after several delays in vaccine shipments to the city. Those who will get priority for the vaccinations include the elderly, as well as medical workers, caretakers at elderly homes and employees such as airline cabin crew and cross-border drivers.

Hong Kong’s government has also ordered the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines. So far, only the Sinovac and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been approved for use in the city.