COVID-19 Vaccination Programme officially launched (with photos/videos)

     The COVID-19 Vaccination Programme was officially launched today (February 26), with people belonging to the priority groups who have made appointments receiving the Sinovac vaccine at five Community Vaccination Centres (CVCs) and 18 general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority (HA).

     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, and the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, inspected the operation of the CVCs at the Exhibition Gallery of the Hong Kong Central Library and Kwun Chung Sports Centre. They said they were pleased to know that the centres have been operating smoothly. 

     The public response to the programme has been enthusiastic. On the first day of online appointment booking, all booking slots for the first two weeks were taken up. The online booking system in the designated website (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk) will be open again for members of the public to make appointments starting from 9am on March 1 (Monday).  

     Apart from the five CVCs and the 18 general out-patient clinics of the HA, members of the public can also make appointments to receive the Sinovac vaccine at three newly added CVCs, namely Tseung Kwan O Sports Centre, Osman Ramju Sadick Memorial Sports Centre in Kwai Tsing and Yau Oi Sports Centre in Tuen Mun. These centres will operate for a period of 56 days starting from March 6. The Government will review the situation including the supply of the vaccine and the public demand and make updated arrangements at suitable junctures. The locations of the eight CVCs are detailed in the Annex.
 
    Starting from 9am on March 1, members of the public can book the timeslots available up to March 26 through the online booking system for receiving the Sinovac vaccine at the eight CVCs and 18 general out-patient clinics of the HA.

     If necessary, people can seek assistance for making online bookings from about 120 post offices or the 180 estate management offices of the public housing estates they reside in.

     Apart from the CVCs, people belonging to the priority groups can also receive Sinovac vaccine at clinics of private doctors participating in the programme from mid next week. Information about these clinics will be uploaded to the designated website.

     The Government has procured three vaccines from different technology platforms with a total of 22.5 million doses, which would be sufficient for vaccinating all of the people in Hong Kong. The programme has also been implementing in a safe and orderly manner. Members of the public are encouraged to get vaccinated early so as to enable Hong Kong to successfully fight the epidemic as soon as possible.

     For information about the vaccination, please visit the designated website at www.covidvaccine.gov.hk .