New arrangement of Vaccine Pass to commence from Friday
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Starting September 30, children aged 5 to 11 are required to comply with the specified vaccination requirements under the Vaccine Pass when entering any applicable premises of the Vaccine Pass, i.e. having received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, or within three months after receiving the first dose of vaccine.
Starting from the same day (September 30), the grace period for persons aged 12 or above to receive the third dose after the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine will be shortened from six months to five months under the Vaccine Pass.
Under the new arrangement, the relevant vaccination requirements under the Vaccine Pass are as follows (see the press release issued earlier for details):
Children aged 5 to 11
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Children aged 5 to 11 are required to fulfil the following conditions in order to comply with the vaccination requirements:
(1) Within three months after having received the first dose of vaccine (required to receive the second dose within three months of receiving the first dose); or
(2) Having received two doses of vaccine.
Persons aged 12 or above
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Persons aged 12 or above are required to fulfil the following conditions in order to comply with the vaccination requirements:
(1) Within five months after having received the second dose of vaccine (required to receive the third dose within five months of receiving the second dose); or
(2) Having received three doses of vaccine.
The Government reminded members of the public to be aware of the recommended interval between receiving the second and the third dose of vaccine. For persons aged 12 to 17 in particular, the second and third dose of Comirnaty vaccine should be administered 150 days apart.
The Government has all along been facilitating vaccination for members of the public through multiple channels, such as Community Vaccination Centres, Hospital COVID-19 Vaccination Stations and private clinics. Members of the public may make a reservation for vaccination via the online booking system of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.
Recovered persons aged 5 or above who were infected with COVID-19
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For the vaccination requirements under the Vaccine Pass for recovered persons aged 5 or above who were infected with COVID-19, please refer to the press release issued earlier and the relevant infographic.
For recovered persons who had not received or had only received one dose of vaccine before infection, they are required to receive additional dose(s) of vaccine in accordance with the vaccination requirements before expiry of the recovery record QR code (i.e. within six months after recovery) in order to comply with the vaccination requirements under the Vaccine Pass.
Recovered persons who had received at least two doses of vaccine before infection are not required to receive an additional dose. However, they need to download their vaccination record with recovery status incorporated through the Electronic Vaccination and Testing Record System or "eHealth" mobile application before the recovery record QR code expires.
Updating "LeaveHomeSafe" and QR Code Verification Scanner mobile applications
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To facilitate the aforementioned new arrangement of the Vaccine Pass, a new function has been added to the LHS. After users have updated the application, they may store the Vaccine Pass of themselves and a maximum of eight accompanied persons at the same time. The new function serves to enable members of the public to store the Vaccine Pass of accompanied persons who are exempted from using the LHS mobile application, i.e. persons aged 15 or below, persons aged 65 or above, or persons with disabilities, with a view to facilitating their presentation of Vaccine Pass when they enter the applicable premises together.
Parents may also use the "eHealth" mobile application and add their children as "My Family Member" to retrieve and present their own Vaccine Pass as well as that of their children at the same time. Parents may visit the "eHealth" webpage to learn about the relevant operation.
Children or their family members may also bring along and present a paper record printed with the QR code or present a photo of the QR code saved in a mobile phone for the purpose of using it as the Vaccine Pass. The Government reminded persons-in-charge of premises that carrying or presenting the Vaccine Pass QR code by the aforementioned means are allowed under the Vaccine Pass arrangement.
The Government has updated the QR Code Verification Scanner mobile application to version 4.4.2 to assist persons-in-charge of premises to check and record the Vaccine Pass of visitors according to the latest vaccination requirements under the Vaccine Pass. The Government reminded relevant persons-in-charge of premises to download the latest version of the QR Code Verification Scanner as soon as possible.
A Government spokesman said, "Currently, the third dose vaccination rate in Hong Kong has reached 77 per cent, with a certain level of immunity barrier in place. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 vaccination rates of the young and old, who are our targeted groups for protection, still have room for improvement. Boosting their vaccination rates is also one of the important factors of safeguarding the health of all members of the public and resumption of normalcy for our healthcare system.
"The implementation of the Vaccine Pass aims to boost the vaccination rate, strengthen the immunity barrier against the epidemic and allow Hong Kong people to continue to resume normal life in an orderly manner. The Vaccine Pass also prevents persons who are not sufficiently protected by vaccination from entering premises with group gatherings and higher risks of infection. We strongly appeal to members of the public for arranging COVID-19 vaccination for their children and/or elderly family members without delay so that the children and elderly can get protection early through vaccination. Members of the public who are eligible for the third or fourth dose should also get vaccinated as soon as possible to strengthen their own protection."
Ends/Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Issued at HKT 18:52
Issued at HKT 18:52
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