The Prevention & Control of Disease (Use of Vaccines) (Amendment) Regulation 2021 was gazetted today to extend the expiry date of the regulation for one year to December 23, 2022.

The gazettal enables the Government to continue to authorise safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use and implement the vaccination programme provided by the regulation as a major tactic for fighting against the epidemic.

The effective period of authorisation of the Sinovac and BioNTech vaccines authorised for emergency use under the regulation will be extended accordingly.

The amendment regulation also provides immunity from civil liability as applicable to the Advisory Panel on COVID-19 Vaccines to Government-appointed committees and a Government-appointed panel.

The committees are the Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment Following COVID-19 Immunisation, the Scientific Committee on Emerging & Zoonotic Diseases and the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases while the panel is the Chief Executive’s Expert Advisory Panel.

Members of the committees and the panel will be given immunity from civil liability when advising the Government in good faith on the use of authorised vaccines for a specified purpose or on clinical events following vaccination.

The amendment regulation is made in accordance with the Prevention & Control of Disease Ordinance. Section 8 of the ordinance empowers the Chief Executive-in-Council to make regulations for the purposes of preventing, combating or alleviating the effects of a public health emergency and protecting public health.