Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip today visited the Home Vaccination Service call centre at the Hong Kong Spinners Industrial Building in Cheung Sha Wan to view the centre's first day of operation.

Unvaccinated seniors aged 70 or above and people with impaired mobility due to illness or physical disability are advised to register for the free door-to-door Sinovac vaccination service via the service website or the enquiry hotline at 5688 5234.

Mr Nip noted that the hotline provides phone registration service from 9am to 8pm.

Members of the call centre comprise students of healthcare-related disciplines from seven tertiary institutions and members of the Hong Kong Dental Association.

With co-ordination by staff of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the hotline will also proactively call unvaccinated people aged 70 or above.

Staff of the Kwai Tsing and Sham Shui Po district health centres will also take part in the work of contacting such people.

Mr Nip thanked all the staff and volunteers for their contribution to the project as well as the Fung Group for providing a free venue for the setting up of the call centre.

He noted that the call centre will also approach nearly 200,000 people who are receiving relevant allowances under the Social Welfare Department and are not yet vaccinated, to help them register for vaccination.

The Home Vaccination Service is scheduled to be launched on April 26.

The service will be rolled out by district, with four or five districts being served each week, in order to ensure that the elderly and needy people can receive vaccine protection to reduce their risk of serious illness and death from infection.

The Government reminded the public that they can receive COVID-19 vaccination free of charge. The Home Vaccination Service will not charge any fees or refer other services to the vaccine recipients.

The service’s outreach teams will only provide such services to people who have completed registration and will not conduct home visits without prior arrangements. Staff members will wear a green uniform shirt while on duty.

The public should carefully check the identity of the outreach team's staff members before allowing them to enter their premises. If they have any doubt, they may call the enquiry hotline at 5688 5234.