Over 1 million people receive first dose of COVID-19 vaccine
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The number of people who have received their first vaccine dose under the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme has exceeded 1 million, a Government spokesman announced today (May 5). The figure accounts for around 15 per cent of the population aged 16 or above and eligible to get vaccinated through the Vaccination Programme, which has been running for 69 days since February 26.
The spokesman expressed gratitude to members of the public for their support for the Vaccination Programme and called on those who have not yet been vaccinated to do so as early as possible. “A high vaccination rate can lead us to resume economic and livelihood activities as soon as possible. In view of the threat posed by mutant strains, it is imperative for us to get vaccinated to protect ourselves and others,” the spokesman said.
“The Vaccination Programme has been expanded to cover all persons aged 16 or above. The minimum age for receiving the BioNTech vaccine is 16, and that for receiving the Sinovac vaccine is 18. Persons in the above age group can make reservations on the designated website of the Vaccination Programme (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk) for receiving vaccines at 29 Community Vaccination Centres and 21 general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority. They can also make appointments for vaccination with private doctors or clinics participating in the programme.”
So far, about 1 593 600 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered for members of the public (please see Annex 1). Among them, about 1 005 400 persons have received their first dose, with about 457 800 persons receiving the Sinovac vaccine and about 547 700 persons receiving the BioNTech vaccine. About 588 100 persons have received their second dose, with about 327 700 persons receiving the Sinovac vaccine and about 260 500 persons receiving the BioNTech vaccine.
In the last 24 hours ending at 8pm today, about 30 700 persons have received vaccination and about 16 300 new vaccination bookings have been made online, detailed as follows:
(i) About 5 600 persons received their first dose of the Sinovac vaccine, including about 2 600 persons vaccinated at Community Vaccination Centres (CVCs) and about 3 000 persons at private doctors and clinics participating in the programme;
(ii) about 2 900 persons received their second dose of the Sinovac vaccine, including about 1 800 persons vaccinated at CVCs and about 1 100 persons at private doctors and clinics;
(iii) about 10 000 persons received their first dose of the BioNTech vaccine at CVCs, and about 12 200 persons received their second dose of the BioNTech vaccine;
(iv) the overall percentage of people who have received the Sinovac vaccine at CVCs is about 96 per cent; while the overall percentage of people who have received the BioNTech vaccine at CVCs is about 97 per cent; and
(v) about 3 800 persons have made online bookings for receiving their first and second doses of the Sinovac vaccine, while about 12 500 persons have made online bookings for receiving their first and second doses of the BioNTech vaccine.
In the last 24 hours ending at 0.00am today, there were nine cases of ambulance transfers to hospitals. Among them, six persons were discharged, two persons were admitted for observation and one person left the hospital without seeking any consultation (please see Annex 2).
As background information, in the last 24 hours ending at 0.00am today, there were 39 cases of stroke or myocardial infarction that required admission to the Intensive Care Unit, Acute Stroke Unit and Cardiac Care Unit of public hospitals. The state of new cases admitted to the wards concerned is provided as a cross reference to enhance fuller public understanding of cases of the kind recorded on vaccine recipients.