HONG KONG, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to support Hong Kong's fight against the severe fifth wave of COVID-19 epidemic, Fosun Foundation announced last week the donation of HK$10 million anti-epidemic materials, including COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits and face masks to Hong Kong. The first batch of 250,000 sets of COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits arrived in Hong Kong from Shanghai this morning, and 50,000 pieces of N95 respirators are expected to be arrived in Hong Kong tomorrow morning.
Fosun Foundation rapidly launched the epidemic relief work of “Let’s Work Hand in Hand and Combat the Epidemic Together” in Hong Kong
Fosun Foundation's first batch of anti-epidemic materials, including 250,000 sets of COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits will be firstly allocated to chronically ill patients, children from low-income families, the elderly, grassroot citizens, etc. The first batch of non-profit organizations and associations that Fosun Foundation has approached includes the Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society, the Hong Kong Paediatric Society, the Boys' & Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong, Haven of Hope Christian Service and some elderly care centers.
Fosun Foundation has communicated with various non-profit organizations and associations, hoping to fulfil their donation request and needs as much as possible, and is arranging the donation of the first batch of COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits, N95 respirators, etc. to them with priority, so that these organizations and associations will be able to receive the anti-epidemic materials by next week. These non-profit organizations and associations will then select beneficiaries according to their respective circumstances and arrange for distribution.
A total of 250,000 sets of COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits donated this time, have received the European Union CE marking and international certifications from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the United Kingdom, the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (L'Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé or ANSM) in France, etc. To perform the test, a swab will be used to collect nasal swab specimen, and the test result will be available in 15 minutes. Even if there are no symptoms, the test kit can be used to test whether the sample is positive. Children may also use the test kit with the assistance of an adult.
Since the Lunar New Year in February this year, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong has hit record highs for days, and the epidemic situation has continued to deteriorate. Fosun Foundation has been closely following the epidemic situation in Hong Kong, and quickly launched the epidemic relief work of "Let's Work Hand in Hand and Combat the Epidemic Together". Fosun Foundation stated that it endeavors to assist and fully support Hong Kong in the fight against the epidemic, actively contributing to anti-epidemic efforts in Hong Kong.
As the fifth wave of epidemic caused by the omicron variant broke out, there has been a huge demand for virus testing among citizens, and the waiting time for Community Testing Centres is long. During the epidemic, many of the people with flu symptoms eagerly hope to know whether they are preliminarily positive for COVID-19 through rapid testing. However, rapid tests are not easy to find, and it is difficult for chronically ill patients, low-income families, the elderly, and grassroot citizens to continuously purchase and bear the costs of rapid tests by themselves. Chronically ill patients and the elderly are high-risk groups for COVID-19 due to lower immunity. They are more likely to be severely ill after infection, leading to higher mortality.
In addition, a recent survey conducted by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, commissioned by the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Hong Kong, shows that 82% of the parents surveyed with children aged between five and eleven are worried that their children may be at higher risk of infection due to lack of hygiene awareness, but only 24% of the parents survey plans to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. As the current vaccination rate among children is still low, they are also one of the high-risk groups for COVID-19.
Fosun Foundation said, "Our first batch of anti-epidemic materials will first target high-risk groups and grassroot people, including chronically ill patients, children from low-income families, the elderly and grassroots citizens. We hope that the anti-epidemic materials can ease their financial burden and psychological pressure from purchasing rapid antigen test kits and face masks, responding to the government's call of achieving 'early identification, early isolation and early treatment'. In addition, we are currently working actively and intensively to initiate the global deployment of anti-epidemic materials. We hope to arrange next batch of anti-epidemic materials to Hong Kong as soon as possible to meet the needs of non-profit organizations and associations that have reached out to us, make a greater contribution to anti-epidemic efforts in Hong Kong, work hand in hand to overcome difficulties, endeavoring to win the fight against COVID-19 in Hong Kong as soon as possible."
Since the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020, Fosun Foundation has immediately initiated a global medical supplies deployment plan to provide strong support for China and overseas to fight against the epidemic. As of the end of last year, Fosun had provided more than 50 million medical supplies, including surgical masks, protective suits, nucleic acid test kits to over 30 countries, including Italy, the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Japan, Korea and India, etc.
In addition to leveraging its global resources advantages to urgently deploy protective materials to assist countries affected by the epidemic, Fosun also partnered with BioNTech, a German biotechnology company, to jointly develop the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (COMIRNATY®), actively promoting the implementation of vaccine research and development and the launch of the vaccine, thereby providing a strong guarantee for defeating the epidemic. COMIRNATY® (also known as BNT162b2) has been put into use in Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR in March 2021, and arrived in the Taiwan region on 2 September 2021, which was subsequently put into use, playing an active role in the epidemic prevention and control in Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan region.
About Fosun
Fosun was founded in 1992. Fosun's mission is to provide high-quality products and services for families around the world in health, happiness, wealth and intelligent manufacturing segments. Fosun International Limited is a global innovation-driven consumer group that has been listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 00656.HK) since 2007.
Founded in 1994, Fosun Pharma (stock code: 600196.SH, 02196.HK), a member company of Fosun, is a leading innovation-driven international healthcare group in China. Recently, it partnered with BioNTech, a German biotechnology company, to jointly develop the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (COMIRNATY®) to supply COMIRNATY® in Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan region.
Since its establishment, Fosun has been adhering to its core value of "Self-improvement, Teamwork, Performance and Contribution to Society", shouldering corporate social responsibilities and insisting on serving the society, the people and the nation. Founded in November 2012, Fosun Foundation's core businesses include disaster relief, poverty alleviation, healthcare, education, culture, art, youth entrepreneurship, etc. In 2021, Fosun Foundation was awarded "5A Social Organization".
