Home Vaccination Call Centre begins operation (with photos)
The Home Vaccination Service is open for online and phone registration starting from today (April 19). The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, visited the call centre at the Hong Kong Spinners Industrial Building in Cheung Sha Wan to view the first-day operation of the centre.
Unvaccinated elderly persons aged 70 or above and persons with impaired mobility due to illness or physical disability are advised to register for the free door-to-door Sinovac vaccination service via the Home Vaccination Service website (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/hv/) or the enquiry hotline (Tel: 5688 5234).
Mr Nip said, "The enquiry hotline provides phone registration service from 9am to 8pm. Members of the call centre comprise students of healthcare-related disciplines of seven tertiary institutions and members of the Hong Kong Dental Association. With co-ordination by staff of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the hotline will proactively call unvaccinated persons aged 70 or above, in addition to receiving calls for registration. Staff of the Kwai Tsing and Sham Shui Po District Health Centres will also participate in the work of contacting these persons. I am grateful for the concerted efforts of the staff in promoting COVID-19 vaccination, to the Fung Group for providing the venue free of charge for the setting up of this call centre, and to the Anti-Coronavirus Link and the Hong Kong Volunteers Against Coronavirus for sending volunteers to assist the medical teams in the door-to-door vaccination service.
"The call centre also bears an important mission of proactively approaching nearly 200 000 persons, who are receiving relevant allowances under the Social Welfare Department and are yet to get vaccinated, to help them register for vaccination."
The Home Vaccination Service is scheduled to be launched on April 26. The service will be rolled out by district, with four or five districts being served each week, so as to ensure that the elderly and persons in need can receive vaccine protection and reduce their risk of serious illness and death from infection.
Applicants for the Home Vaccination Service are reminded to note the following:
* Members of the public can receive COVID-19 vaccination free of charge. The Home Vaccination Service will not charge any fees or refer other services to the vaccine recipients;
* During registration, applicants are only required to provide their Hong Kong identity document number, year of birth, phone number, address, and information about their physical conditions (for those who are unable to leave home for vaccination due to illness or physical disability);
* The Home Vaccination Service outreach teams will only provide services to persons who have completed registration. The teams will not conduct home visits without prior arrangements;
* For easy identification of the Home Vaccination Service outreach teams, staff members will wear a green uniform shirt (see photo 2) while on duty. Members of the public should check carefully the identity of the outreach team staff members before admitting them to their premises. In case of doubt, persons can call the enquiry hotline on 5688 5234; and
* Family and friends may accompany the vaccine recipients during the door-to-door service by the outreach teams, so as to enable the recipients feel more at ease.
For members of the public who have elderly family members who they can take to Community Vaccination Centres, COVID-19 Mobile Vaccination Stations, Hospital COVID-19 Vaccination Stations, clinics or other vaccination venues, they are advised to make reservations or collect same-day tickets for vaccination immediately so that the elderly persons can receive vaccine protection as early as possible.
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.
