Hong Kong – Elderly people in Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan join COVID-19 vaccination day (with photos)

     COVID-19 vaccination events for the elderly were held in Kwun Tong District and Tsuen Wan District today (September 25) to enable nearby elderly persons to get vaccinated through a one-stop service covering a health talk, medical consultation and vaccination.
 
     Around 150 people took part in the COVID-19 vaccination event for the elderly in Kwun Tong District at Kai Yip Community Hall. After the event, designated vehicles transferred residents who opted for the Sinovac or the BioNTech vaccines to the Community Vaccination Centres (CVCs) at Kowloon Bay Sports Centre or Hiu Kwong Street Sports Centre respectively for vaccination.
 
     Meanwhile, the COVID-19 vaccination event for the elderly in Tsuen Wan District at Tsuen Wan Sports Centre attracted around 140 participants. The Government’s outreach vaccination team provided a vaccination service to the participants who opted for the Sinovac vaccine at a temporary vaccination area specially set up at the Sports Centre. Those who opted for the BioNTech vaccine were taken by pre-arranged transport to the CVC at Tsuen King Circuit Sports Centre for vaccination.
 
     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, attended the events to support the elderly persons to get vaccinated, and expressed gratitude to organisations and leaders in the community for their assistance in the promotion of vaccination for the elderly. Apart from the support from the elderly, he said that the successful implementation of a one-stop vaccination service for the elderly in the community hinged on the support of local organisations, volunteers and volunteer healthcare workers.
 
     So far, five District Offices have organised COVID-19 vaccination events for the elderly in Sham Shui Po, Yau Tsim Mong, Central and Western District, Kwai Tsing and Sha Tin.
 
     The Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases and the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases under the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health recommended that elderly persons should receive COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible, as long as they are not suffering from acute illnesses. All elderly persons who have previously received influenza vaccines can safely receive COVID-19 vaccines. Both COVID-19 vaccines available in Hong Kong are safe and highly effective in protecting against severe disease and death from COVID-19 infection.
 
     All eligible persons who want to receive COVID-19 vaccination can collect same-day tickets from 21 CVCs under the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme so that they can get vaccinated in a CVC at a designated time slot on the day of distribution without prior booking.