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The Government will launch the 2010/11 vaccination programmes on November 1, covering the seasonal influenza vaccination and elderly pneumococcal vaccination.
Free vaccination will be provided to certain target groups at public clinics and hospitals while subsidised vaccination for eligible children and the elderly are available at private doctors' clinics enrolled in vaccination subsidy schemes.
The Department of Health (DH) has secured 300,000 doses of inactivated influenza vaccine and 35,000 doses of pneumococcal vaccine for the Government Vaccination Programme (GVP) 2010/11.
Speaking at a press conference today (September 16), the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the DH, Dr Thomas Tsang, said that the seasonal influenza vaccine was made in accordance with the World Health Organisation's recommendation and had a good safety profile.
The vaccines to be used in the GVP 2010/11 will contain:
* an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus (i.e., human swine flu-like virus)
* an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus
* a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus
Starting on November 1, 2010, free influenza vaccinations will be provided under the Government Vaccination Programme 2010/11 by the DH and the Hospital Authority (HA) to specified target groups, namely
* Elderly persons living in residential care homes;
* Long-stay residents of institutions for the disabled;
* Elderly persons aged 65 years or above with chronic illness and followed up in public clinics, as well as those aged 65 years or above receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA);
* Persons under 65 years with chronic illness who are on CSSA, and some long-stay HA in-patients who have chronic illness;
* Health-care workers of the DH, HA and other government departments, as well as health-care workers in elderly homes or institutions for the disabled;
* Children between the age of six months and less than six years from families receiving CSSA;
* All pregnant women receiving CSSA;
* Poultry workers or staff who may be involved in poultry culling operations; and
* Pig farmers and pig-slaughtering industry personnel.
Free pneumococcal vaccine will be given to elderly persons aged 65 or above with chronic illness and followed up in public clinics, as well as those aged 65 years or above receiving CSSA, if they have not received the vaccination previously, Dr Tsang said.
In addition, the Government will provide subsidised vaccinations to eligible children and the elderly under the Childhood Influenza Vaccination Subsidy Scheme (CIVSS) and Elderly Vaccination Subsidy Scheme (EVSS) respectively.
Under CVISS, children aged between six months and less than six years are each entitled to a subsidy of HK$80 for each dose of seasonal influenza vaccine received from enrolled private doctors, up to a maximum of two doses.
Private medical doctors who enrol in the scheme will display the scheme logo near the entrance of their clinic for recognition. In addition, information about doctors who join CIVSS and the fees that they charge will be posted on the CHP website.
As for the EVSS, elderly people reaching the age of 65 or above this year will be entitled to a HK$80 subsidy for each dose of influenza vaccine and $140 for each dose of pneumococcal vaccine. An extra $50 will be subsidised as injection cost per dose received from private doctors, i.e. $130 for each influenza vaccination and $190 for each pneumococcal vaccination.
The vaccination period for the seasonal influenza vaccination will be from November 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011. The pneumococcal vaccination for the elderly runs continuously throughout the year and has no end-date.
Last but not least, under the new Residential Vaccination Programme this year, private doctors enrolled as Visiting Medical Officers will be reimbursed at $50 per vaccine injection by the Government for providing free seasonal influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations for eligible residents and staff of Residential Care Homes for the Elderly and Disabled.
A telephone hotline (2125 2125) has been set up to answer public enquiries relating to the vaccination programmes and subsidy schemes during office hours. Members of the public may also obtain relevant information from the CHP website.
Ends/Thursday, September 16, 2010
Issued at HKT 17:36
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