Billionaire Li Ka Shing Receives First Dose of BioNTech Vaccine

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong’s richest tycoon Li Ka-shing has received his first dose of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE vaccine for Covid-19, as the city ramps up efforts to get more people vaccinated.

The 92-year-old billionaire got the shot on Friday at Hong Kong’s Sanatorium & Hospital, according to a representative for his charity, the Li Ka Shing Foundation. In a post on Facebook, Li asked others to do the same: “I have taken the vaccine shot today. What about you?”

Hong Kong’s Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip thanked Li for taking action to support vaccinations in a separate Facebook post. Nip urged Hong Kong people to get vaccinated as soon as possible to “restart economy and resume traveling.”

The government on Thursday expanded eligibility for Covid-19 vaccines to all residents aged 16 and older, in its latest attempt to boost the financial hub’s inoculation rate by making the shots more widely accessible.

Li founded CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., one of Hong Kong’s largest conglomerates, with businesses spanning ports, retail, telecommunications and infrastructure. The group last month posted its first annual profit decline since 2015 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

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