Representatives of various civil service unions today (April 22) gave support to the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme and called on civil service colleagues to get vaccinated as early as possible to protect themselves and others.
"The COVID-19 virus is raging across the globe. Apart from staying vigilant against the virus, it is more important for Hong Kong to expand and accelerate vaccinations in order to establish an effective bulwark against the epidemic. In addition to the Government calling on practitioners of different sectors to receive vaccinations, civil service colleagues should also set an example by getting vaccinated. I am very grateful to the staff side representatives of the central staff consultative councils and the chairmen and executive committee members of major service-wide staff unions for turning up today to support the vaccination programme, and some of them will receive vaccinations tomorrow or later. I hope that their appeal will serve as a call to action among civil service colleagues to join hands with the public to get vaccinated," said the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip.
"It is necessary for us in the civil service to get vaccinated as our services are closely related to the daily lives of people who will visit government buildings to apply for licences, obtain government services and so on. Therefore, we have to stay vigilant and continue to put in place various infection control measures. Vaccinations will erect a protective barrier which will enhance protection for staff members and visitors at government buildings," he added.
"Vaccinations will help minimise the risk of recurrence of community outbreaks, and brings hope to win the battle against the epidemic. The Chief Executive, Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaux, a number of Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments have already led by example in getting vaccinated. My bureau has also appealed to colleagues to receive vaccinations through various channels and will enable their participation. A small vaccination centre will be operating at Central Government Offices for about two months to administer Sinovac or BioNTech vaccinations for colleagues working there. I hope they will get vaccinated against COVID-19."
Mr Nip also took the opportunity to remind the public to make their bookings as early as possible. He said that the Government had already expanded the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme to cover persons aged 16 or above. Starting from 9am tomorrow (April 23), persons aged 16 to 29 can make reservations through the online booking system on the designated website (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk) to receive the BioNTech vaccine at 24 Community Vaccination Centres (CVCs), while persons aged 18 or above can make reservations to receive Sinovac or BioNTech vaccines at 29 CVCs or 21 general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority. They can also make appointments for vaccinations with private doctors or clinics participating in the programme.
Members of the public can search for information about all vaccination venues through the GeoInfo Map (www.map.gov.hk/gm/map/s/m/communityvaccinationservicesofcovid) and the Interactive Map Dashboard of COVID-19 (chp-dashboard.geodata.gov.hk/covid-19/en.html) on the designated website.
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