Regarding media enquiries on how individuals who hold a COVID-19 Vaccination Medical Exemption Certificate (Exemption Certificate) issued by a doctor suspected to have abused the issuance of Exemption Certificates can continue to obtain the relevant exemption, the Health Bureau gave the following response:

     If members of the public hold Exemption Certificates issued by individual private doctors who are suspected to have failed to provide proper medical consultation to patients in accordance with the guidelines of the Department of Health and abused the issuance of Exemption Certificates, they may consult other doctors depending on their needs to determine whether they are suitable for receiving COVID-19 vaccination or may continue to be medically exempted. Apart from arranging consultations with other private doctors by themselves, relevant members of the public may also choose to visit any general out-patient clinics (GOPCs) under the Hospital Authority (HA) (except designated clinics for confirmed cases of COVID-19) where public sector doctors can ascertain whether the patients concerned can continue to obtain medical exemption according to their clinical condition. The eHealth System contains records of Exemption Certificates issued by the doctors concerned earlier and is accessible to public sector doctors when conducting assessment for members of the public. In fact, GOPCs under the HA have all along been providing advices for visiting patients who intend to receive COVID-19 vaccination but have doubts about their health condition in order to assist the patients to make decision on vaccination.

     Members of the public may make appointments for GOPC services through the telephone appointment system or the "Book GOPC" function in the HA's one-stop mobile application "HA Go" to consult doctors' opinions on their suitability for receiving COVID-19 vaccination. For details, please visit the HA's GOPC webpage (www.ha.org.hk/gopc).

     The Government also reminded members of the public not to defy the law and not to commit acts such as bribing or deceiving doctors in an attempt to obtain Exemption Certificates through improper means. If clinics of the public healthcare system notice any suspected criminal behaviours, they will handle those cases seriously and refer them to enforcement departments for follow-up depending on the circumstances.

Ends/Thursday, September 29, 2022
Issued at HKT 23:31

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