Ingrid Yeung: Home vaccination service in full swing to help those in need

Hong Kong's Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung, visited the Central Command Centre (CCC) of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme and the Community Vaccination Centre (CVC) at Kwun Chung Sports Centre this morning (July 3) to inspect the operation and vaccination arrangement of CVCs after the typhoon.

"The Government will continue to provide free COVID-19 vaccination service to members of the public and encourage them to get vaccinated in a timely manner. In face of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Civil Service Bureau, the healthcare teams and the administrative support staff will not lower their guard and will continue to implement the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme. The Home Vaccination Service (HVS) for elderly persons and persons with special needs is also in full swing," said Mrs Yeung.

In addition to monitoring the daily operation of vaccination centres, the CCC situated at the Central Government Offices also serves to cope with various kinds of unexpected situations such as inclement weather, and to maintain close contact with every vaccination venue to facilitate response and deployment of manpower and materials within a short time. Meanwhile, the CVCs will also notify the CCC in case of emergency.

The Government has issued SMS notifications to persons with a vaccination booking at the CVCs during the passage of the typhoon to inform them of their new vaccination time slot. Members of the public can also select another vaccination time slot via the designated website of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk). In addition, the Home Vaccination Call Centre will inform persons affected of the updated vaccination arrangement under the HVS by phone tomorrow (July 4).

Mrs Yeung expressed gratitude to the staff of the CCC and CVCs for their dedication in serving the public.

"Recently, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases remains at a high level. As the protection conferred by the vaccines will diminish over time, members of the public should take note of the dosing interval as recommended by experts and get their next vaccine dose on time. In particular, persons aged 60 or above should receive the fourth vaccine dose as soon as possible to enhance vaccine protection, so as to protect themselves and reduce the risk of serious illness and death from infection. Currently, there is surplus in the vaccination capacity of CVCs and other vaccination venues and members of the public should get vaccinated in a timely manner," she said.