Vials of Sinovac Biotech Ltd.'s CoronaVac SARS-CoV-2 vaccine are displayed at a media event in Beijing, China, on Sept. 24, 2020. (NICOLAS BOCK / BLOOMBERG)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's Secretary for Food and Health approved the emergency use of Sinovac in Hong Kong on Thursday and the government announced that inoculations for Hong Kong residents will start on Feb 26.  

The first million doses of Sinovac vaccine will arrive in HK on Friday with another million shots of BioNtech vaccine expected by Feb-end

Health secretary Sophia Chan Siu-chee's nod came two days after the city’s expert panel on vaccination unanimously recommended the Sinovac vaccine for emergency use. 

The first million doses of Sinovac vaccine will arrive in the city on Friday, while another million shots of BioNtech vaccine is expected to be delivered to the city before the end of Feb, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen told reporters on Thursday.

READ MORE: HK panel recommends use of Sinovac's vaccine

An online reservation system will open Feb 23 for five groups of people regarded as particularly vulnerable or easily exposed to COVID-19, Nip said. He said vaccines will be also offered at the city's 1,500 private clinics and care homes for the elderly and the disabled. 

Health workers, people aged above 60, care home residents and employees, people providing essential public services such as cleaners and police officers, as well as providers of cross-boundary services will be part of the first batch of Hong Kong residents to be inoculated. 

It is estimated that 2.4 million Hong Kong residents would fall in the priority bracket.

Twenty-nine community inoculation centers will be set up across the city, five of which will offer Sinovac vaccines, Nip said. 

The two-shot vaccination exercise would involve an initial jab aiming to invoke an immune response followed by a booster dose. 

Depending on vaccine availability, the program will expand beyond the priority groups to cover people between 16 and 59 suffering from chronic diseases and thereafter, to include people younger than 60.

ALSO READ: Regulator grants Sinovac vaccine conditional OK

Beginning Feb 26, the target groups can receive injections at the five centers and the Hospital Authority’s 18 General Out-patient Clinics, Nip said.

According to a press statement, the health secretary believes that approval for the Sinovac vaccine is necessary and in public interest after taking into account recommendations of the city's vaccine advisory panel.

BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine was approved for emergency use by the government last month.

The Hong Kong government has secured 22.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, enough to cover the city's population of 7.5 million, as each person needs to take two jabs.