SCS visits elderly who receives first dose of COVID-19 vaccination through door-to-door service (with photo)
30.12.2022

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, visited an unvaccinated 88-year-old elderly in Lei Tung Estate, Ap Lei Chau with a medical team this morning (December 30) to view the process of administering the first dose of the BioNTech ancestral strain vaccine on him under the Home Vaccination Service (HVS) programme. Mrs Yeung said, "In addition to providing safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for Hong Kong residents, the Government has also implemented facilitation measures such as the door-to-door vaccination service and the same-day tickets, as well as setting up vaccination venues at locations with convenient transportation to encourage vaccination of the elderly. While the community is gradually returning to normality, what remains unchanged is that the elderly is still subject to higher health risks after COVID-19 infection as compared with other age groups, and hence they need to receive suitable doses of the vaccine on time to maintain the protection conferred by the vaccine. We will continue to encourage and help those who have not yet received suitable doses of the vaccine, especially the elderly and the young, to get vaccinated for self-protection. Everyone should safeguard the health of their own and their families and take action to arrange vaccination for themselves and their family members. "Meanwhile, the Government will closely monitor the demand for vaccination and adjust service arrangements in a timely manner to enable members of the public to receive suitable doses of the vaccine on time so as to maintain the protection conferred by the vaccine. In view of the recent increase in the demand for the BioNTech bivalent vaccination, the Government has immediately co-ordinated with different medical teams and increased the BioNTech vaccination quota at the four Community Vaccination Stations starting from today, while the BioNTech vaccination quota at Private Clinic COVID-19 Vaccination Stations will also be increased gradually starting from tomorrow (December 31)." Currently, eligible persons can receive the fifth dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while recovered persons who have received three doses and caught COVID-19 before can receive their fourth dose. The HVS has accordingly provided the above vaccination service to elderly persons aged 70 or above and persons who have difficulties going out for vaccination due to illness or disability, and provided more vaccine options rendering convenience to the elderly. Mrs Yeung thanked the medical teams for straightening out the vaccination arrangement in a bid to administer the Sinovac vaccine, the BioNTech ancestral strain vaccine or the BioNTech bivalent vaccine for persons in need at their homes while keeping vaccine wastage to a minimum. She said that the HVS provided vaccination services for two elderly people who chose to receive the BioNTech bivalent vaccine yesterday (December 29). Since the launch of the HVS, over 56 600 vaccine doses have been administered to elderly persons aged 70 or above and persons who have difficulties going out for vaccination due to illness or disability across the territory, and the oldest persons having been vaccinated under the HVS are aged 108. Each vial of the BioNTech bivalent vaccine has to be withdrawn into six syringes in advance, and the vaccine doses can only be kept under a specified range of temperature for not more than 12 hours. The BioNTech ancestral strain vaccine vials have to undergo specified dilution procedures before being withdrawn into syringes and the storage time of the vaccine doses is much shorter - not more than six hours. To minimise vaccine wastage, the medical teams will gather people who opt for these two types of vaccine and arrange same-day vaccination for each type of vaccine recipients as far as possible. As the due date for vaccination varies for each service user, coupled with the scattered places of residence, the medical teams may take a longer time to arrange the outreach vaccination service. In addition, Mrs Yeung thanked the civil service teams, the medical teams and the administrative support staff for carrying out their duties and serving the public with dedication since the launch of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme on February 26, 2021. A cumulative total of over 20.30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to members of the public, building an immunity barrier for Hong Kong and laying an important foundation for the community to resume normalcy in a continuous and orderly manner. Eligible persons can receive vaccination through various channels. Apart from Private Clinic COVID-19 Vaccination Stations and COVID-19 Vaccination Stations in public hospitals, designated general outpatient clinics of the Hospital Authority, Elderly Health Centres, Student Health Service Centres and Maternal and Child Health Centres of the Department of Health (DH), together with some 1 000 private doctors providing COVID-19 vaccination service, also provide the vaccination service. Elderly persons and persons with impaired mobility are welcome to contact the HVS and register for the service via the HVS website ( www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/hv/ ) or by phone at 5688 5234 between 9am and 6pm from Monday to Friday (except public holidays). The designated website for the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme ( www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/en/programme ) provides the latest information including details on vaccination venues, reservation and enquiry hotlines. As for the COVID-19 vaccination recommendations, please refer to the information by the DH ( www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/Third_dose_supplementary_sheet_ENG.pdf ).