Vaccination Centres See Queues For Booster Jabs

Queues formed at some vaccination centres on Thursday morning as people turned up to get a coronavirus booster jab.

This came as Hong Kong started giving a third dose of vaccine to people over 60 and priority groups, such as those with compromised immune systems and people who face a higher risk of infection at their workplace.

At a vaccination centre in Kowloon Tong, an aircrew member said she would like to have a higher level of protection against Covid-19.

“I need it for my job because I work for the airlines. That’s why I decided to come and get the third dose,” she said.

A man said he took the booster jab as he would be going on a trip outside Hong Kong.

“I’ve passed my six months. I’m going to fly out next month on a trip, so better to be kept up on my antibodies,” he said.

A man surnamed Poon said he decided to switch to BioNTech after getting two shots of Sinovac previously.

“Because the protection rate for Sinovac is lower according to the newspapers, but for BioNTech it will be higher, so I am getting BioNTech,” he said.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Civil Service Secretary Patrick Nip both took a third shot of Sinovac as their boosters, at a vaccination centre in North Point.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Nip, who's in charge of the city’s vaccination programme, explained that he had chosen Sinovac because he prefers a vaccine based on an inactivated form of the virus.

He appealed to those eligible to get a booster shot, saying they can choose Sinovac or BioNTech according to their needs.