Government reminds members of public commencement of Vaccine Pass third stage next Tuesday
***************************************************************

     The third stage of the Vaccine Pass will commence next Tuesday (May 31). The Government reminds members of the public who are not yet compliant with the requirement of the third stage of the Vaccine Pass to receive the respective dosage of vaccine before May 31. At the same time, other members of the public who are eligible to receive the third dose should receive the third dose as soon as possible in order to strengthen protection early. There is no need for them to wait until the six-month grace period under the Vaccine Pass expired.
 
     After the commencement of the third stage of the Vaccine Pass, the following persons are compliant with the vaccination requirements to continue to use the Vaccine Pass:
 
(1) Ordinary persons: (a) Received three doses of vaccine; or
                                (b) Within six months after having received the second dose of vaccine;
(2) Recovered persons: (a) Received three or two doses of vaccine;
                                   (b) Within six months after recovery;
                                   (c) Within six months after having received the first dose of vaccine after recovery; or
                                   (d) Aged 12 to 17 and received one dose of Comirnaty vaccine;
(3) Inbound travellers: Arrived in Hong Kong within six months and holding the Provisional Vaccine Pass; and
(4) Persons who are verified to be unsuitable to receive vaccination by medical practitioners, and hold the COVID-19 Vaccination Medical Exemption Certificate.
 
     According to the recommendations by the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases and the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases under the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health (DH), joined by the Chief Executive's expert advisory panel, persons who are unsure if they had a previous COVID-19 infection or persons who do not have their recovery record in the DH's system may safely receive the next dose of vaccine no less than 28 days after recovery.
 
     The current version of the vaccination record already includes the date of birth and the latest vaccination or recovery status of the vaccine recipient. Members of the public may download the latest version of vaccination record through the COVID-19 Electronic Vaccination and Testing Record System website (www.evt.gov.hk/portal/en/), the "eHealth" or "iAM Smart" mobile applications. The Government reminds members of the public (especially recovered persons who had received vaccination or adolescents aged 12 to 17) to use the latest version of vaccination record (with date of birth and recovery record included) or medical exemption certificate, and store their relevant QR codes with the latest version of "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile application. The current versions of "LeaveHomeSafe" and "QR Code Verification Scanner" mobile applications will automatically check whether the QR code provided is compliant with the requirements in accordance with the conditions under the relevant stage of the Vaccine Pass.
 
     If members of the public have questions regarding the installation or use of the "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile application, such as storing and display of the Vaccine Pass, they may call the "LeaveHomeSafe" telephone hotline (2626 3066) for enquiry. The hotline operates from 7am to 9pm daily. Members of the public may also visit the mobile support stations of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer set up at 25 MTR stations to seek assistance from staff, or learn about the details of using the application through the thematic webpage of "LeaveHomeSafe" (www.leavehomesafe.gov.hk/en/).
 
     In view of the commencement of the third stage of the Vaccine Pass on May 31, and the next round of social distancing measures coming into effect on June 2, relevant government departments will conduct inspections at relevant premises during the subsequent long holiday after the adaptation period from 0.00am on May 31 to 0.00am on June 2, in order to determine whether specified premises comply with the relevant regulations under the Vaccine Pass, and whether relevant persons who enter or remain in those specified premises comply with the Vaccine Pass requirements.
 
     "Vaccination is highly effective in preventing severe cases or deaths from COVID-19. The implementation of the Vaccine Pass arrangement aims to raise the vaccination rate, strengthen the immune barrier against the epidemic and allow Hong Kong people's way of life to continue to resume normalcy in an orderly manner. We strongly appeal to members of the public who have not been vaccinated, especially senior citizens, chronic patients and other immunocompromised persons who face a much higher fatality risk after COVID-19 infection, to get vaccinated with no delay for the sake of their health. Members of the public who are currently eligible for a third or fourth dose should also get the dose as soon as possible," a Government spokesman said.
 
Note 1: For the vaccination requirements under the third stage of the Vaccine Pass for different categories of persons, please refer to the Government's press release issued on May 17 and the Vaccine Pass thematic website (www.coronavirus.gov.hk/pdf/vp_t1_ENG.pdf).
 
Note 2: Recovered persons refer to persons whose infection or recovery records had been declared and stored in the Government's system. For the arrangement of downloading the recovery record QR code, please refer to the Government's press release issued on April 19 and the Vaccine Pass thematic website (www.coronavirus.gov.hk/pdf/vp_recovery_qr_ENG.pdf).
 
Note 3: For the declaration of non-local vaccination record or recovery record and the arrangement to obtain the Provisional Vaccine Pass for inbound travellers, please refer to the Government’s press releases issued on May 5 and 19 and the Vaccine Pass thematic website (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/nonlocalvacc_ENG.pdf).
 
Note 4: For the arrangement to obtain the COVID-19 Vaccination Medical Exemption Certificate, please refer to the Government's press release issued on January 27 and the COVID-19 vaccination thematic website (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/en/programme).

Ends/Thursday, May 26, 2022
Issued at HKT 21:25

NNNN