2,200 Babies And Toddlers Inoculated: Ingrid Yeung

The government said on Thursday that around 2,200 children aged between six months and three years have been given the Sinovac vaccine since it became available to the age group a week ago.

That’s according to the Secretary for the Civil Service, Ingrid Yeung, who said around 45 percent of the kids were inoculated at private clinics.

The Sinovac jabs are available to younger children at five community vaccination centres, designated government out-patient clinics and private doctors.

Yeung told an RTHK programme that authorities are planning to also provide the jabs to this age group at the Tsing Yi community vaccination centre and the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital, with bookings to open on Friday for slots from next Monday.

She also said from Monday, parents of young children who regularly use any maternal or child health centres can opt to have them vaccinated against Covid at the same time.

Meanwhile, Yeung said the government is still in talks with the manufacturer of the BioNTech vaccine over the purchase of doses made especially for babies and toddlers.

“I know that some parents hope to have more [vaccine] choices. But experts have told us that Sinovac is a very safe vaccine. For parents who want to provide protection for their children sooner, don’t hesitate and have them vaccinated with this vaccine now,” she said.

The civil service chief said the government has not set any target for the vaccination rate of young children, but that it hopes everyone who should get the jab does so.

When the summer holiday ends, she said the government will arrange outreach vaccination programmes at kindergartens.