The Government’s outreach COVID-19 vaccination team visited Tai O today (October 16) to provide vaccination services to residents, in particular elderly persons, living in relatively remote areas there. A total of 127 elderly and other residents in Tai O took part in a vaccination activity which provided them with one-stop services consisting of a health talk and medical consultation to learn more about COVID-19 vaccines. The outreach team also administered the Sinovac vaccine to them on site.

     Viewing the outreach service and expressing support for the vaccination of elderly persons at Tai O Community Centre, the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, said, “We note that there is no clinic providing COVID-19 vaccination services to residents in Tai O and this may cause inconvenience to elderly residents who usually have activities in places close to their homes. The arrival of the outreach team helps to fill a service gap and enables them to get vaccinated in a convenient manner without having to travel to urban areas for vaccinations.
 
     “In fact, the stilt houses, the old temples and the creek in Tai O are tourist spots with high people flows during holidays. For the sake of their own health, elderly residents in Tai O should get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect themselves even though they do not go out very often. Under the threat posed by the highly transmissible mutant strains, elderly persons who are not vaccinated will be subject to the extremely high risk of getting seriously ill and death from COVID-19 infection. Both COVID-19 vaccines available in Hong Kong are safe and highly effective in protecting against severe disease and death from COVID-19 infection.”

     Experts recommend that elderly persons should receive a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible, as long as they are not suffering from acute illnesses. All elderly persons who have previously received influenza vaccines can safely receive COVID-19 vaccines.
 
     Mr Nip also took the opportunity to visit residents in a stilt house. He expressed gratitude to local organisations in Tai O for their promotion of vaccinations in the community, and to the medical team and administrative support staff of the Community Vaccination Centre at Tin Fai Road Sports Centre for providing the outreach service.
 
     Today’s activity was jointly organised by the Islands District Office and the Tai O Rural Committee, and co-organised by the Central, Western, Southern and Islands District Social Welfare Office with the participation of various local organisations.
 
     Meanwhile, a health talk cum COVID-19 vaccination activity for elderly people in Sha Tin District was held at Yuen Chau Kok Community Hall today. An outreach team was on site to administer the Sinovac vaccine to elderly people and other residents. Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council also organised a COVID-19 vaccination day at SKH Holy Carpenter Church Community Centre today for users of the Council’s service units such as district elderly community centres, neighbourhood elderly centres and day care centres for the elderly. Mr Nip was also present at both events to support and encourage elderly persons to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

     Following the provision of a walk-in service for COVID-19 vaccination at a shopping mall in Kwun Tong, the Government’s outreach vaccination team provided the BioNTech vaccination service to tenants of a shopping centre and members of the public at a temporary vaccination area in Lok Fu Place today (September 2).
 
     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, and the Chief Executive Officer of Link Asset Management Limited (the Link), Mr George Hongchoy, jointly viewed the administering of the vaccine to members of the public there.
 
     “The Link has joined hands with the Government in promoting the ‘Early Vaccination for All’ campaign through the setting up of a temporary vaccination area in this shopping centre to raise the vaccination rate. I hope such an arrangement will assist those persons who want to get vaccinated to do so immediately as well as the elderly persons and residents nearby. It can also draw people’s attention to the importance and urgency of getting vaccinated when walking past this area. I appeal to elderly persons to grasp the opportunity to get vaccinated before the winter influenza season arrives. This is the best way to protect oneself under the current epidemic,” Mr Nip said.
 
     “The Vaccination Programme has been in place for more than six months with the provision of outreach vaccination service initially mainly to enterprises. It is the time to move the focus at the district level to enable more people to get vaccinated by using various methods in districts.”
 
     Currently, the channels of vaccination are very convenient. Members of the public can make online reservations on the designated website of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk) for vaccination at Community Vaccination Centres (CVCs) or general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority, or make vaccination appointments direct with private doctors or clinics enrolled in the programme. In addition, same-day tickets are available for distribution at 21 CVCs each day to persons aged 60 or above and students aged 12 or above so that they can receive vaccination in a CVC at a designated time slot on the day of distribution.
 
     Mr Nip expressed his gratitude to the medical team and administrative support staff of the Community Vaccination Centre at Ho Man Tin Sports Centre for providing the outreach service today.