Granting of childcare vaccination leave of not more than half a day to government employees for accompanying young children to receive COVID-19 vaccination on working days

     In order to encourage parents to arrange for the COVID-19 vaccination of their children aged six months to less than three years as early as possible, starting from August 22, government employees will be granted childcare vaccination leave of not more than half a day for accompanying children aged below three, as their parents or guardians, to receive the vaccination on a working day.
 
     A Government spokesman said, "In view of the rapid spread of the mutant strains, parents should arrange for COVID-19 vaccination of their young children as early as possible. As the largest employer in Hong Kong, the Government has a duty to take the lead and introduce a family-friendly measure to encourage and facilitate government employees who are parents or guardians of young children to act fast and arrange for their children to get vaccinated for early protection. We also appeal to employers of other enterprises to provide convenience for their employees as far as possible and encourage parents to arrange for COVID-19 vaccination of their young children as a concerted effort to boost the vaccination rate of young children and further strengthen the overall protective barrier in the community."
 
    Starting from August 22, all government employees including civil servants, non-civil service contract staff and post-retirement service contract staff will be granted authorised absence for not more than half a day on each occasion they accompany each of their eligible children aged below three to receive the vaccination as a parent or guardian. For government employees who have taken their own vacation leave to bring children aged below three to get vaccinated as a parent or guardian before August 22, they may also be retrospectively granted a half-day authorised absence by application. The Government will review the arrangement in due course.