The government on Friday said a batch of about 96,000 shots of the baby and toddler version of the BioNTech Covid vaccine had arrived in Hong Kong. Distributed here under the name Comirnaty, the vaccine is for children aged between six months and four years.

Last month, the government signed off on the use of the toddler version of the mRNA vaccine, after taking into account the views of experts on a government-appointed advisory panel.

Previously the BioNTech shot had only been given to those aged five and above, while the Sinovac inactivated virus jab was made available for younger children in August.

Government advisers had previously said that BioNTech was safe for infants, but that they would require a dose of around a tenth of that given to adults.