Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan said the Government has rolled out the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme thematic website as well as various measures to encourage people to get vaccinated.

Responding to lawmaker Yung Hoi-yan’s questions at the Legislative Council today, Prof Chan said the Government has followed the principles of openness, transparency, accuracy and timeliness and adopted a science-based approach to provide the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines through different channels.

The website offers a one-stop destination to allow the public to learn about the vaccines. The number of doses given, remaining days of operation and remaining quotas of community vaccination centres are also available.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health has produced a large number of materials to promote early vaccination. Family doctors are invited to participate in informative programmes and answer enquiries so members of the public feel at ease about getting vaccinated.

To encourage citizens, the Government and different sectors of the community have implemented a number of measures. Government employees will be entitled to a day of vaccination leave or be allowed to apply for one day of authorised absence for each COVID-19 jab received. Frontline government employees who have received the first dose can be exempted from regular testing.

Based on the vaccine bubble concept, the Government will further adjust social distancing measures such as relaxing the maximum number of people allowed at premises and group gatherings, along with the mask-wearing requirement. The quarantine period for fully vaccinated people arriving in Hong Kong will also be shortened.

The Education Bureau has issued letters to encourage schools to arrange vaccination leave for teachers and staff for getting their jabs. When considering the resumption of full-day classes and other anti-epidemic measures, the Government will consider the vaccination rate in each school and decide whether or not to allow more learning time and activities to resume.

As the commercial sector and many organisations are considering launching lucky draws to encourage vaccination, the Government will speed up the processing of licence applications and assist in conducting verifications.

Prof Chan noted a COVID-19 case with an unknown source of infection involving the highly transmissible mutant strain was found in Hong Kong last week, meaning the fifth wave of the epidemic could strike at any time. She urged people to get vaccinated early and build a protective barrier without delay.