Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip attended the Yau Tsim Mong Elderly Vaccination Day held in Kwun Chung Sports Centre today and showed his support for the elderly to learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and get vaccinated.

At the event, around 170 elderly people took part in a health talk on COVID-19 vaccines which was conducted by voluntary healthcare workers who answered questions from the participants on the spot.

After the talk, the Government arranged for the seniors who opted for the Sinovac vaccine to go to the community vaccination centre at the sports centre for vaccination and assisted those who opted for the BioNTech jab to make vaccination bookings.

Mr Nip noted that this arrangement could enhance senior citizens' understanding of the vaccines and let them feel at ease and make it convenient for them to receive vaccination.

He said: “The vaccination rate of elderly people in Hong Kong is still low. They will be subject to extremely high risk of getting seriously ill and death if there is another wave of the epidemic.

“Hence they are the group of people that we want to protect the most.

“Elderly people or their family members should learn about COVID-19 vaccines in an objective manner.”

Noting that both vaccines available in Hong Kong are highly effective in protecting against severe diseases and death from COVID-19 infection, Mr Nip appealed to seniors to get vaccinated before the winter influenza season arrives.

Currently, people aged 60 or above can get same-day tickets at more than 20 vaccination centres to receive their COVID-19 jab without prior booking, while their accompanying family members can get vaccinated together.