Children Community Vaccination Centres attentively serve special school students (with photo)

     Around 300 students from 37 special schools were arranged to receive the BioNTech vaccine at the Children Community Vaccination Centres (CCVCs) at Yuen Chau Kok Sports Centre in Sha Tin and Hong Kong Children's Hospital in Kowloon Bay at special booking time slots this morning (April 27). 

     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, visited the CCVC at Yuen Chau Kok Sports Centre in Sha Tin to learn about the vaccination arrangements from the medical team of the CUHK Medical Centre and to give encouragement to the children. About a third of the special school students receiving vaccination at the CCVC today are children aged 6 to 11 and the rest are students aged 12 or above. Medical staff of the CUHK Medical Centre has made special arrangements to provide suitable vaccine dosages to students according to their age.

     Mr Nip said, "To cater for children with special needs, the Civil Service Bureau has been making arrangements for special school students, such as arranging them to receive vaccination at specialist out-patient clinics in hospitals outside opening hours. This is the third arrangement we made to group special school students together for vaccination. The children have already had experience in receiving COVID-19 vaccination. This is the first time we gathered them at the two CCVCs to speed up the vaccination process.

     "The students getting vaccinated today, some with attention deficit disorders and some with certain severe impairments, have different needs that require special support and delicate attention from the medical staff. During the vaccination process, the medical staff has served the children with a great deal of love and care. I am very grateful to the medical staff and also thank the parents for their support."

     Mr Nip reminded members of the public that for the four CCVCs that are dedicated to providing the BioNTech vaccination service to children aged 5 to 11 (Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong, Hong Kong Children's Hospital, Yuen Chau Kok Sports Centre, and Tsuen Wan Sports Centre), their opening hours on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays have been extended to between 8am and 8pm until May 15, so as to provide convenience to parents to bring their children to get vaccinated during the holidays.

     As the BioNTech vaccine for children requires a special dilution procedure, children aged 5 to 11 must receive the BioNTech vaccine at the four CCVCs mentioned above. They must bring along a consent form of the following version signed by their parents or guardians on the date of vaccination (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/Consent_Form_for_Fractional_BioNTech_Vaccination_ENG.pdf) and must be accompanied by their parents or guardians in person when receiving vaccination. 

     Persons have to bring along the original identity documents on the date of vaccination. If the identity documents do not bear the child's photo, such as the birth certificate, then school documents (such as school handbooks) bearing a photo of the student must be presented at the time of vaccination.

     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.