The Centre for Health Protection today announced that seasonal influenza vaccination programmes will be launched in October.

The Vaccination Subsidy Scheme (VSS) and the Government Vaccination Programme (GVP) 2020-21 will be launched on October 8 and 22, providing in phases subsidised or free seasonal influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations to eligible people.

The centre said that eligible groups for the seasonal influenza vaccination will be extended to recipients of the standard rate of 100% disabled or requiring constant attendance under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme (see Annexes I and II).

The Government’s subsidy for participating doctors will be increased from $210 to $240 per dose, the centre explained, adding that under the Residential Care Home Vaccination Programme, the subsidy for visiting medical officers will remain at $100 per dose.

To enhance the vaccination rate of schoolchildren and assist in arranging outreach vaccination services by schools, the Department of Health (DH) will continue its free outreach vaccination service in primary schools while the outreach service for kindergartens, kindergarten/child care centres and child care centres has been regularised in the new season.

Outreach teams will provide free vaccination for schoolchildren of schools participating in the relevant outreach scheme. The outreach service for primary schools will start on October 22 while the service for kindergartens, kindergarten/child care centres and child care centres will begin on October 8.

The subsidy for the outreach service for kindergartens, kindergarten/child care centres and child care centres in the new season will be increased from $260 to $270 per dose. As for the outreach service for primary schools, the subsidy will remain at $100 per dose.

The DH is procuring 628,000 doses of inactivated influenza vaccines for the GVP and 250,000 doses for school outreach programmes free of charge in the new season.

Meanwhile, free or subsidised pneumococcal vaccination for eligible people will continue to be provided under the GVP and VSS to prevent pneumococcal infections (see Annex III).

Those aged 65 or above who do not have high-risk conditions will be eligible for one dose of 23-valent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccination (23vPPV).

Elderly people with high-risk conditions who have not received pneumococcal vaccination before will be eligible for one dose of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and one dose of 23vPPV one year later.

Under the VSS, the subsidy will be $300 per dose for 23vPPV and $760 per dose for PCV13.

Call 2125 2125 or visit the centre’s webpage for details.