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Comment by ddeck | Hacker News Reader

Pfizer (and Fosun) is also the distributor, ran the trials, and handled much of the public/regulator/media facing communications. As such, the Pfizer branding is not surprising.

Production is a multi-step process involving both Pfizer and BioNTech.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfizer%E2%80%93BioNTech_COVID-...

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Likewise, look at how Astra-Zeneca made many missteps, mishandling data, sending out wrong doses in trials. Pfizer did not make these mistakes. The distributing company not only matters, it matters a LOT.

In China we call it Fosun/Biontech and that's fine. I would never call it the Fosun vaccin out of respect for the people who actually made the breakthrough.

Good to know. That sounds more reasonable than just Pfizer.

In HK most people refer to it as BioNTech these days, despite the government's confusing use of the official name "Comirnaty".

The government description seemingly tries to credit Fosun with its development: "mRNA technology platform - by Fosun Pharma in collaboration with the German drug manufacturer BioNTech" [1]

On the plus side, HK is one of the few places in the world where anyone aged 16 or over can currently get their choice of free vaccine (BioNTech or Sinovac) at a nearby vaccine center in about 20 minutes with a booking delay of a couple of days (for defrosting).

Unfortunately, few seem to want it, with bookings running at about 10k/day despite 40k/day capacity for BioNTech alone.

[1] https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/en/vaccine

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