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A spokesman for the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (March 13) said the vaccination period of the Influenza Vaccination Subsidy Scheme (IVSS) would come to an end on March 31.
Under IVSS, local children aged between six months to less than six years are eligible to receive an $80 subsidy from the Government for each dose of influenza vaccine they get from participating private doctors.
Two doses of influenza vaccine are normally required for a child who has not received influenza vaccination before.
ˇ§IVSS will no longer subsidise the first dose of flu vaccine given after March 31. For children who receive the first dose of flu vaccine on or before March 31, the Government will provide a subsidy for the second dose of flu vaccine given up to May 31,ˇ¨ a CHP spokesman said.
Over 1,200 private doctors provide influenza vaccinations under IVSS throughout the territory. Up to March 8, more than 125,000 doses have been administered.
Information on participating doctors has been posted on the IVSS website (www.ivss.gov.hk). The information includes the names of the doctors, addresses and telephone number of their clinics, and fees charged for influenza vaccination.
Participating doctors will display an IVSS logo at their clinics to facilitate identification.
The spokesman reminded parents who plan to take their children to participating doctors for vaccination to bring along their children's identity documents for verification of resident status.
Children aged six or above who are Hong Kong residents and attending kindergartens or child care centres can also receive the subsidy by providing proof of pre-school attendance.
For children aged between six months and less than six years from families receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, the DH will provide free flu vaccination service till March 31 through its Maternal and Child Health Centres.
Meanwhile, over 300,000 clients have received influenza vaccination under the Government Influenza Vaccination Programme (GIVP) which provides free vaccination to eight target groups of people.
The spokesman reminded eligible high risk clients that GIVP will also end on March 31.
Ends/Friday, March 13, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:01
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