Hong Kong – Second phase of XBB COVID-19 vaccination arrangements to start next Thursday
Second phase of XBB COVID-19 vaccination arrangements to start next Thursday
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The Government today (January 12) announced that the second phase of vaccination arrangements of XBB mRNA COVID-19 vaccine will start on January 18, and appealed to members of the public, especially high-risk groups, to be vaccinated as soon as possible in order to enhance personal protection. The Government reiterated that, all currently available COVID-19 vaccines, including inactivated, mRNA ancestral strain or bivalent, and XBB vaccines are effective in preventing severe illness and death. To protect personal health, eligible persons may continue to choose to receive any currently available COVID-19 vaccines.
The first phase of XBB COVID-19 vaccination arrangements has been rolled out on December 14 last year, with resources focused on providing vaccination services for adult residents at residential care homes (RCHs) and the elderly aged 65 or above. The vaccination figure increased visibly after the launch of the first phase, with a total of about 45 000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines being administered as of yesterday (January 11), among which about 31 000 doses were XBB mRNA vaccine. As the vaccination figure of the above-mentioned group has stabilised, the Government will roll out the second phase of the XBB COVID-19 vaccines arrangement, which will be extended to cover other high-risk priority groups, including persons aged 50 to 64, adults aged 18 to 49 with underlying comorbidities, persons aged 6 months or above and with immunocompromising conditions, pregnant women and healthcare workers.
Starting from 9am on January 18, all high-risk priority groups (i.e. persons aged 50 or above, adults aged 18 to 49 with underlying comorbidities, persons aged 6 months or above with immunocompromising conditions, pregnant women and healthcare workers) can make a booking through the Government online booking system at booking.covidvaccine.gov.hk/forms/index.jsp. They can receive XBB COVID-19 vaccine for completing their initial or booster dose from that day at relevant vaccination venues. If necessary, eligible persons can seek assistance for making online bookings from post offices (except mobile post offices).
The Government has been striving to facilitate access to COVID-19 vaccines for high-risk priority groups, and is progressively increasing the number of vaccination venues in view of the second phase vaccination arrangement, including a general outpatient clinic (GOPC) under the Hospital Authority (HA) (Tin Shui Wai (Tin Yip Road) Community Health Centre), as well as five Private Clinic COVID-19 Vaccination Stations (PCVSs) in Yuen Long, Tsuen Wan, Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong and Southern District. Also, non-member elderly people aged 65 or above can also make appointments at Wan Chai Elderly Health Centre (EHC) and Lek Yuen EHC. Together with the vaccination venues of the first phase, there are 19 PCVSs, one Children Community Vaccination Centre, 11 designated GOPCs under the HA, and two designated EHCs of the DH. Venues providing XBB vaccination can be found at the Annex.
In addition, designated specialist outpatient clinics of the HA and designated EHCs of the DH will continue to provide XBB COVID-19 vaccines to attending patients and members respectively. The Government will also continue to provide vaccination for adult residents at RCHs for the elderly and RCHs for persons with disabilities through outreach services under the Residential Care Home Vaccination Programme.
As Hong Kong has entered the influenza season and the local COVID-19 activity has also increased significantly, the Centre for Health Protection of the DH strongly urged high-risk groups to receive seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) and COVID-19 booster as soon as possible to lower the risks of serious illness and death. High-risk persons can receive a COVID-19 booster at least six months after the last dose of COVID-19 vaccine or COVID-19 infection (whichever is later). For the sake of convenience, COVID-19 vaccine can be co-administered with SIV. Details of receiving both COVID-19 vaccination and SIV are available online (www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/106096.html).
A Government spokesman said, “The COVID-19 vaccines available in Hong Kong are all safe and effective, and fulfil quality requirements. The key to maintain the protection conferred by the vaccine is to receive suitable doses in a timely manner according to the vaccination schedule. The Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases and the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases under the CHP reiterated that all currently available COVID-19 vaccines are effective in preventing severe disease and death. The World Health Organization (WHO) also said that high-risk persons should receive booster doses at appropriate times to lower the risks of serious illness and death.”
The Government noted the manufacture and supply of inactivated vaccine (i.e. CoronaVac/Sinovac) and reiterated that the local stock of relevant vaccine is adequate to cope with the expected use this year. The expert group of the WHO will have a meeting in March this year and it is anticipated that the meeting will discuss the recommendation on the use of COVID-19 vaccines, including variants to be covered by vaccines and the use of vaccines from different technology platforms.
Details of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme can be found at the CHP’s website (www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/106934.html).
Phase 2 services of Trade Single Window fully implemented early
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GOAL (Going Online as Leaders) is a joint initiative of Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Meta (formerly Facebook), which aims at digital empowerment of tribal youth and women through concept of mentor and mentee.
The first phase of the GOAL programme was launched as a pilot project in May 2020 and it was completed by Dec 2021. The mentees in the first-phase were provided with 40+ hours of training across three course pillars: (1) Communication & Life Skills; (2) Enabling Digital Presence, and (3) Leadership & Entrepreneurship. The programme is fully funded by Meta (Facebook India). As part of the phase 1 of GOAL program, 176 tribal youth from 23 States across India were selected through an online application process. The mentees were also given a smart phone and Internet Connectivity by Facebook.
The second phase of the GOAL Programme (GOAL 2.0) was launched on 28thJune, 2022 with an aim to digitally upskill tribal youth by promoting entrepreneurship and opening up opportunities for them using digital technology.
In Phase-I, the digital mentorship was provided online by attaching one mentor to 2 mentees. Based on learnings from Phase-I, there is change in the design in Phase-II. Rather than inviting applications to become mentees under the scheme, Goal 2 program will be open to all people from tribal communities. The program aims to upskill and digitally enable tribal youth via Facebook live sessions and Meta Business Coach, a digital learning tool. There will be special focus on more than 10 lakh members of 50000 Vandhan Self Help Groups. They will be digitally trained with regard to market demand, packaging, branding and marketing of their products. The GOAL 2 will enable maximum participation and percolation of benefits of the training within the tribal youth with provision of Chatbot, need based on line sessions from Industry experts in different fields as per requirements from the mentees.
The programme is fully funded by Meta (Facebook India) and Ministry of Tribal Affairs has not incurred any expenditure or provided any funds for implementation of the program.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs in coordination with Ministry of IT and Electronics, will be providing 6 digital classes in each of the 175 EMRS schools selected under the program. The project is being implemented by ERNET, which is an autonomous organization under MeiTY through STC funds available with MeITY and 10% funding is being done by NESTS.
Under Skill India Mission, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is implementing its flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). Under PMKVY 3.0, focus has also been given for skilling on digital technology and Industry 4.0. Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) have also created job roles on new and emerging digital technologies and industry 4.0 skills like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT). MSDE has budget of Rs. 203 cr under Schedule Tribe Component (STC) for various programs related to skill development of tribals during 2022-23.
Further, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the aegis of the MSDE has initiated online skilling through eSkill India portal. The platform offers learning opportunities on emerging technologies like cybersecurity, blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning, predictive modelling, statistical business analytics, cloud and Internet of Things along with professional skills like design thinking, project management and digital marketing.
There is no separate fund allotment for training of Digital Skills under the PMKVY scheme. Under Centrally Sponsored State Managed (CSSM) component of PMKVY scheme, there is a provision of State/UT-wise allocation of funds.
Further, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education is implementing the initiative of Vocationalisation of School Education under the umbrella of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of ‘Samagra Shiksha’. Under Vocational Education component of ‘Samagra Shiksha’, NSQF compliant vocational courses are offered to the school students including tribal Students from class 9th to 12th in the schools covered under the scheme. It consists of Communication Skills, Self-Management Skills, Information and Communication Technology Skills, Entrepreneurship Skills and Green Skills.
This Information was provided by Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda in Lok Sabha.
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Ministry of Ayush is conducting the world’s first multicenter phase III clinical trial examining the efficacy of Ayurveda in the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis. The clinical trial will be conducted in accordance with stringent International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use – Good Clinical Practice (ICH- GCP) guidelines and is being closely monitored by Dr Daniel Erick Furst, a renowned rheumatologist at University of California los Angeles in the United States of America.
This project is one of the first multi-center phase III double blind double dummy clinical trials on the efficacy of Ayurveda in the management of Rheumatoid Arthritis. This will be conducted by AVP Research Foundation, a research institution affiliated with The Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (Coimbatore) Ltd and the Central Council for Research in Ayurveda (CCRAS), a government of India agency under the Ministry of Ayush.
Dr. Edzard Ernst, world renowned rheumatologist, currently the Director of Clinical Research at Arthritis Association of South California (AASC) and a vociferous critic of CAM, endorsed the study as a model for future investigations on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). He has designed the study and will be mentoring it. In connection with this trial Dr. Daniel Furst, has started training all the investigators from centers on the conduct of the study adhering to the gold standards of clinical research, thus enabling globalization of Ayurveda.
Dr Somit Kumar, Director, AVP Research Foundation and Co-Investigator of this study said, “AMRA, a double-blind double dummy randomised clinical trial, is taking Ayurveda research in Rheumatology to a global stage.”
Dr. M.N. Shubhashree, Research Officer, Central Ayurveda Research Institute for Metabolic Disorders, Bengaluru, “The study is expected to begin in May 2022 and is expected to be completed in next two years. The sample size has increased almost 5 times, from 48 patients to 240. Clinical trials will be conducted at three locations; AVP Research Foundation in Coimbatore, Central Ayurveda Research Institute for Metabolic Disorders in Bengaluru and the Raja Ramdeo Anandilala Central Ayurveda Research Institute for Cancer in Mumbai”
Earlier, the National Institutes of Health in the United States of America funded a clinical trial at the University of Washington in Seattle to compare the efficacy and safety of classical Ayurvedic treatment to standard Allopathic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. The findings of this study have been published in prestigious journals such as the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases and the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology.
In Western countries, the multidimensional approach by combining traditional and modern medicine is growing day by day.
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Hong Kong – Phase 2 services of Trade Single Window fully implemented early
The Government announced today (December 30) that Phase 2 services of the Trade Single Window (TSW), covering a total of 28 types of trade documents, are fully implemented ahead of schedule to further facilitate the trade.
A Government spokesman said, “The TSW provides a one-stop electronic platform for the trade to lodge business-to-government trade documents for trade declaration and cargo clearance. Phase 2 services of the TSW have been rolled out in batches since May this year and have been operating smoothly. The services covering the last batch of trade documents are rolled out smoothly today, ahead of the original schedule, marking another significant milestone in the development of the TSW.”
“Together with the 14 types of trade documents covered by Phase 1, TSW services have been expanded to cover a total of 42 types of trade documents (see Annex).”
In addition to significantly expanding the coverage, Phase 2 services of the TSW have also enhanced system functions to create better user experience. These include advanced account management functions, full support for the “iAM Smart” Platform, seamless interface with the information systems of relevant government departments, provision of notification service and functions to allow submissions in bulk. Since May 2023, the TSW electronic platform has issued over 20 000 licenses/permits under Phase 2 services.
“The Government will continue to provide support and enhance publicity to encourage the trade to register as users on the TSW website (www.tradesinglewindow.hk) to enjoy the seamless e-services provided by the TSW in order to save time and cost. Implementation of the TSW will overhaul and enhance document submission workflows between relevant government departments and the trade, which will enhance the efficiency of cargo clearance in Hong Kong and consolidate Hong Kong’s status as an international trade centre and logistics hub,” the spokesman added.
The TSW is being implemented in three phases. Trade documents covered by the first two phases are mainly import and export licences/permits required for specific controlled goods, with the participation of the trade on a voluntary basis. The third and final phase of the TSW will involve a large number of document submitted by a wide range of stakeholders, covering Import and Export Declaration, Advance Cargo Information, Cargo Manifest and Cargo Report in respect of different transport modes, as well as applications for Certificate of Origin and Permit for Dutiable Commodities. The total volume of these documents was around 93 million in 2022. The Government aims to roll out Phase 3 services in batches from 2026 onwards.
The TSW project is taken forward by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, while the Office of Trade Single Window Operation of the Customs and Excise Department oversees the operation of the TSW system and provides support for users through training, help-desk and hotline services. For enquiries, please contact the Office of Trade Single Window Operation at 2117 3348 or by email to enquiry@tradesinglewindow.hk.The second phase of the GOAL Programme (GOAL 2.0) was launched on 28thJune, 2022 with an aim to digitally upskill tribal youth : Shri Arjun Munda
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First of its kind phase 3 clinical trial in Ayurveda for Rheumatoid Arthritis
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