‘Elderly with diabetes, hypertension okay for jabs’

A government adviser on Sunday urged elderly Hongkongers to get vaccinated against coronavirus, saying the jabs are safe even for those struggling with diabetes or high blood pressure.

Professor Ivan Hung, the co-convenor of an expert committee looking at adverse events after Covid vaccinations, said only around 30 percent of people aged between 70 and 79 in Hong Kong are inoculated against the virus, and this falls to around one-tenth of people aged 80 and above.

He said while people with coronary heart disease can suffer more from side effects, it’s not something most elderly people should worry about, including those with diabetes or high blood pressure that isn’t fully under control.

Hung warned that people aged above 75 who contract Covid are much more likely to die than younger patients.

He also said people with weakened immune systems will need to be given a booster shot – something which is not yet available in Hong Kong.

“People who have received organ transplants or chemotherapy, as well as chronic disease patients taking biological agents, have generally low level of antibodies after taking two BioNTech or Sinovac jabs. They need to take a booster shot,” he said.

Meanwhile, the infectious diseases expert also told a TV programme that a University of Hong Kong study has found it is safe for people to receive a mixture of Covid vaccines.

He said initial findings show that people who have a BioNTech shot and then a Sinovac shot have lower levels of antibodies than those who receive two BioNTech jabs, but they suffer milder side effects.

Hung said this means people who develop a serious allergic reaction to the BioNTech jab could opt for Sinovac for the second dose, although the research team is still investigating how much protection this would offer against the Delta variant of coronavirus.