An advisor to the government on Saturday said ensuring a secure supply of vaccines was a factor in the administration's decision to include Sinovac in its seasonal influenza vaccination programme for the first time.

On Monday, the Centre for Health Protection announced that the mainland-manufactured vaccine would be made available alongside those from AstraZeneca and Sanofi when the flu jab scheme starts on September 25.

Professor Lau Yu-lung, chairman of the centre's scientific committee on vaccine-preventable diseases, said after a Commercial Radio programme that the pandemic had shown the importance of having vaccine suppliers from one's own country.

"During Covid, a lot of countries [did] not have access to vaccines... Why?" he said.

"Because the production obviously is a limitation, and therefore, for any country when they produce the vaccines, obviously, they will look after their own countrymen first," he said.

"So the whole idea is to diversify the vaccine supply – not only from, say, the West but also from one's own country as well."

Lau also assured the public that all vaccines registered in the SAR were proven to be safe and effective.

With health authorities having announced on Tuesday that the summer influenza season had begun, he said it was likely that the peaks of both the summer and winter flu seasons would overlap.

He emphasised that maintaining personal hygiene and getting vaccinated could prevent a sharp spike in flu cases.

This year's vaccination programme will allow all participating schools to opt for nasal-spray vaccines instead of injections.

Paediatrician Dr Mike Kwan, who also appeared on the Commercial Radio programme, said he believed the option would boost the city's overall vaccination rate, particularly among youngsters who are afraid of injections.