Additional Community Vaccination Centre dedicated for children and elderly to receive Sinovac vaccine
***************************************************************

     To enable more children, teenagers and elderly persons to receive COVID-19 vaccination as early as possible, the Government will set up a dedicated Community Vaccination Centre (CVC) at Hong Kong Central Library from February 23 to provide Sinovac CoronaVac vaccination service for persons aged 3 to 17 and those aged 60 or above. Online reservations will start at 9am on Monday (February 21).
 
     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, said, "The current epidemic situation is of grave concern, with severe and death cases from COVID-19 involving children and elderly persons. They are our focus of protection. As such, we set up this CVC dedicated for children, teenagers and elderly persons to enable them to get vaccinated as early as possible so as to reduce the risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 infection. We appeal to parents or guardians of their children and family members of elderly persons to take immediate action to make reservations for them as early as possible."
 
     The CVC at Hong Kong Central Library is located at 66 Causeway Road, Causeway Bay. It will be open daily from 8am to 8pm and will be closed between 1.30pm and 2.30pm for cleaning. In addition to taking prior bookings for vaccination, the CVC will also distribute same-day tickets to children, teenagers and elderly persons.
 
     Parents or guardians can make reservations for children and teenagers to receive the Sinovac vaccine at CVCs, five Student Health Service Centres of the Department of Health or the designated general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority through the designated website of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk).
 
     Moreover, parents or guardians can make appointments for children and teenagers to receive the Sinovac vaccine through more than 1 000 private doctors or clinics that participate in the Vaccination Programme. For details, please visit: www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/en/VSS.
 
     Children are required to bring along their original identity documents and a consent form signed by their parents on the date of vaccination. If the identity documents do not bear the child's photo, such as the birth certificate, then school documents (such as school handbooks) bearing a photo of the student must be presented at the time of vaccination. Children aged 3 to 11 have to be accompanied by an adult family member, a domestic helper or a schoolteacher to receive vaccination. The consent form can be downloaded from the designated website of the Vaccination Programme (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/Consent_Form_for_COVID19_Vaccination_ENG.pdf).
 
     Both COVID-19 vaccines available in Hong Kong are safe and highly effective in protecting against severe disease and death from COVID-19 infection. The minimum age for receiving the Sinovac vaccine is 3. The minimum age for receiving the BioNTech vaccine is 5.
 
     As the BioNTech vaccine for children requires a special dilution procedure, children aged 5 to 11 who opted for the BioNTech vaccine must receive the dose at the three Children Community Vaccination Centres (CCVCs). The CCVCs at Hong Kong Children's Hospital and Yuen Chau Kok Sports Centre have commenced operation while the HKU CCVC at Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong will operate from February 24.
 
     For elderly persons, they can receive COVID-19 vaccines at the CVCs, the designated general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority, the private doctors or clinics that participate in the Vaccination Programme, the Hospital COVID-19 Vaccination Stations or the Mobile Vaccination Stations. They can also opt for the walk-in service for Sinovac vaccination at 15 Elderly Health Centres under the Department of Health.
 
     Before making an appointment, one must take note of a minimum interval of 14 days between COVID-19 vaccination and any other vaccination (including seasonal influenza vaccination).

Ends/Thursday, February 17, 2022
Issued at HKT 11:30

NNNN