First parent-child workshop held to strengthen explanatory work on benefits of COVID jabs

The Hong Kong government is rolling out a series of promotion and education activities so that parents can have a deeper understanding of the importance of COVID-19 vaccination for children. The first parent-child workshop was conducted at a kindergarten in Ma On Shan. Dozens of parents and their children took part in the workshop today (Sept. 24) to learn more information about COVID-19 vaccines through games and explanation from an expert.

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Ingrid Yeung, and Honorary Clinical Associate Professor of the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong Mike Kwan attended the workshop to make a first-hand appeal to parents to bring their young children to receive COVID-19 vaccination early. Kwan also answered questions from the parents on-site.

Yeung said, "Children aged 6 months old or above have already been able to receive COVID-19 vaccination since last month. Up to now, the vaccination rate of children aged below 3 is about 16 percent. We understand that some parents still have worries and hence we will go to campuses to organize parent-child workshops starting today in the hope that parents and their children can learn more about the benefits of vaccines through playing games together."

"Experts have warned repeatedly that the mutant strains of the COVID-19 virus not only can trigger croup in children but may also attack their brain, a situation that can be fatal. Even though the number of confirmed cases has slightly subsided these days, children should get vaccinated early to reduce their risks of death, falling seriously ill or severe after-effects should they unfortunately get infected. I hope that parents can listen to more views from experts and never underestimate the threat of the coronavirus. They should bring their children to get vaccinated as early as possible for good protection before winter approaches, just as the theme of today's activity points out: 'Jabs for kids, parents feel at ease'."

A further 19 parent-child workshops or student workshops will be conducted at various kindergartens from today to November. Should other sponsoring bodies of kindergartens or nurseries have an interest in organizing workshops at their campus to enable parents to have a deeper understanding on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and address their worries, they should contact the secretariat of the activity by calling 2187 3090 during office hours.

The designated website for the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/en/programme) provides the latest information including details on vaccination venues, reservation and enquiry hotlines.

Parents or guardians can also make appointments for their children to receive the Sinovac vaccine at Community Vaccination Centres, designated general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority and Private Clinic COVID-19 Vaccination Stations through the online booking system (booking.covidvaccine.gov.hk). Parents can also opt for making reservation for free vaccination through more than 1 000 private doctors or clinics that participate in the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.