Starting today, February 15, children in Hong Kong aged three and above are eligible to get the Sinovac vaccine. Parents can make appointments for their children online to get their shots at one of five Student Health Service Centres in the city — Chai Wan, Lam Tin, Sha Tin, Tuen Mun and Western — or with private doctors or clinics.
Children must be accompanied by their parents to vaccination centres and bring original identity documents and a consent form signed by their parents with them. Once they receive their first dose, they must wait a minimum of 28 days to get their second.
According to a government press release, the decision was made “considering the risks posed by the Covid-19 epidemic to the local community”, referring to the ongoing fifth wave of the pandemic in Hong Kong that has led to an exponential increase in local cases. Last month, children aged 5-11 were deemed eligible for both Sinovac and BioNTech vaccines.
Meanwhile, the Education Bureau announced that it would extend the closure of all kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools and tutorial schools till March 6. However, schools can remain open to provide daycare services for families who did not have adequate childcare support at home.
Schools in Hong Kong have been closed since January 2022, starting with kindergartens, primary schools and daycare centres, followed by secondary schools less than two weeks later.
The bureau also announced that the Internal Assessments for Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) for Primary 6 students will be cancelled this year. Instead, the allocation will be based on the internal assessment scores students obtained in the second term of Primary 5 and mid-year of Primary 6.
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