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The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (February 10) announced that, as a one-off measure, enrolled doctors who have remaining doses of Government-supplied 13-valent pneumococcal conjugated vaccine (PCV13) under the related subsidy scheme of the Childhood PCV13 Booster Vaccination Programme (BVP) could provide vaccination for elderly persons aged 65 or above who have never received subsidised pneumococcal vaccination before with the remaining doses with effect from March 2.
The BVP commenced in December 2013 through paediatric specialist clinics of the Hospital Authority (HA), the DH's Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs), and private doctors under the Childhood Vaccination Subsidy Scheme (CVSS) (PCV13 booster) to provide one dose of PCV13 for children aged from two to under five (i.e. born on or after November 26, 2008) who have never received it. While it ended on June 30, 2014, for better utilisation of resources, enrolled doctors yet to use up the PCV13 supplied by the Government may continue to provide vaccination to eligible children until all vaccines are used up or expire.
As of February 8, about 23 250 doses of PCV13 have been administered under the BVP through the CVSS (PCV13 booster) (about 21 650 doses), MCHCs (about 1 250 doses) and the HA (about 350 doses). Regarding the CVSS (PCV13 booster), about 3 400 doses have been kept unused by some 440 enrolled doctors, of which around one-third can be used until the end of May 2015 and those remaining by the end of October 2015.
In December 2014, the CHP's Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases (SCVPD) and its Working Group on Pneumococcal Vaccination convened a meeting to update the recommendation on the use of pneumococcal vaccine for high-risk individuals based on the latest scientific evidence and recommendations in the international community. The SCVPD recommended either one single dose of PCV13 or one single dose of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV) for elderly people aged 65 or above.
"In order to optimise vaccine utilisation and in response to views of medical professionals, as a one-off measure, enrolled doctors with remaining Government-supplied doses can provide the remaining PCV13 for elderly persons aged 65 or above who have never received subsidised pneumococcal vaccination before until vaccine expiry," a spokesman for the CHP said.
Eligible senior citizens can receive one dose of subsidised PCV13 from enrolled doctors. The service fee, clinic address and telephone number of doctors concerned will be uploaded to the CHP website nearer to the launch. The elderly are advised to consult relevant clinics on vaccine availability and make appointments in advance.
For enquiries, elderly persons and their family members may call the CHP's Vaccination Office (2125 2125) from 9am to 5.30pm from Monday to Friday.
As in other vaccination schemes, enrolled doctors for this one-off measure are required to display the service fee (after deducting the Government's subsidy for injection, $50 per dose) at their clinics for transparency and to assist the public in making informed choices.
"We will inform involved private doctors accordingly to garner their support and look forward to working with them in providing vaccination for better protection for the elderly," the spokesman added.
Please note that pneumococcal vaccination currently provided under other routine schemes are still in place, including free PCV13 in the DH's Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme (HKCIP) for eligible children at 2, 4, 6 and 12 months of age; free 23vPPV in the Government Vaccination Programme (GVP) and subsidised 23vPPV in the Elderly Vaccination Subsidy Scheme (EVSS) for eligible elderly people.
The updated SCVPD's recommendations on pneumococcal vaccination in high-risk individuals have been uploaded to the website (www.chp.gov.hk/en/sas6/101/110/106.html).
The public may visit the following pages for more information:
* The CVSS (PCV13 booster) page (www.chp.gov.hk/en/view_content/32396.html);
* The HKCIP page (www.fhs.gov.hk/english/main_ser/child_health/child_health_recommend.html);
* The GVP page (www.chp.gov.hk/en/view_content/18630.html); and
* The EVSS page (www.chp.gov.hk/en/view_content/21839.html).
Ends/Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Issued at HKT 11:32
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