Teachers, Drivers And Others Get Vaccine Priority

Some 1.3 million workers from various industries can start making appointments for coronavirus vaccines from Tuesday after they were also given priority by the government.

The minister in charge of the vaccination programme, Patrick Nip, said these include teachers, public transport drivers, restaurant staff, couriers, construction workers as well as people working in gyms, beauty parlours and wet markets.

The government decided to give more people priority because there are sufficient jabs and these workers are at a higher risk of contracting Covid-19, the civil service secretary said, adding that an additional 12 vaccination centres will open next week.

Elderly residents and healthcare workers are among those who were given priority when the inoculation scheme began late last month.

So far, more than two million jabs from Chinese manufacturer Sinovac and German firm BioNTech have arrived in the territory.

At least two people have died and several people felt ill after being vaccinated, but health secretary Sophia Chan insisted the government still believes the benefits of getting a jab outweigh the risks.

"We will continue to review the situation and also review not only the vaccination data but also the data, for example... of having these adverse events, which happen every day in the Hospital Authority's accident and emergency departments.

"The Department of Health and the Hospital Authority are looking at these statistics. Once we have more information, they will report," she said.

Officials added the vaccination centres are not the suitable place for people to inquire if they are suitable for a jab, saying they should seek advice from their family doctors who are more familiar with their health conditions.