Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam struck back allegations of cronyism Tuesday over her choice of a China COVID-19 vaccine for the city's mass inoculation.
Last week, city authorities announced the order of nearly 16 million vaccine doses from American company Pfizer and Beijing-based Sinovac.
The procurement of coronavirus vaccines directly from manufacturers is part of a multipronged vaccination strategy announced by the Hong Kong government in September that will eventually see all residents receiving a free shot.
"There was malicious spreading of rumors, as well as people stigmatizing and politicizing the vaccine procurement," Lam said Tuesday.
"These rumors are completely unfounded," a government representative echoed in a statement.
Experts from the Hong Kong Department of Health were consulted about the decision - but observers remain skeptical.
"We know very little about Sinovac Biotech as it hasn't even published its third-phase data on its vaccine," Dr Arisina Ma Chung-yee, head of the Hong Kong Public Doctors' Association, told the SCMP Friday.
"The government should come clean on why it chose Sinovac Biotech to restore public confidence if it wants Hong Kongers to get vaccinated," she added.
To be sure, not everyone is concerned - supporters of the Sinovac vaccine point to first and second trial data published in The Lancet medical journal that attest to its effectiveness.
While these trials showed the Sinovac vaccine to be safe, they reported lower levels of protective antibodies in patients as compared with people who have recovered from the virus.
In contrast, the treatments developed by Moderna and Pfizer both revealed antibody levels equal to, or above, recovered patients.
This hasn't stopped countries around the world from putting in orders for the Sinovac vaccine.
Riding a worldwide wave of demand, Sinovac began overseas shipments of its COVID-19 vaccine last week with 1.2 million doses delivered to Indonesia and another 1.8 million shots expected in the archipelago by January.
The pharmaceutical manufacturer has also secured deals with Brazil, the Philippines, Turkey and Chile but faces steep competition from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca who have each pledged to produce tens of millions of doses over the next year.
