The Government today appealed to eligible people to receive the third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible, as half of the city’s population aged 12 or above has received their third COVID-19 jab.

As of today, about 3.38 million people had received their third COVID-19 vaccine dose, accounting for 50% of the population aged 12 or above.

The Government urges citizens to take the third vaccine dose to enhance protection against COVID-19 and prepare for the implementation of stage three of the Vaccine Pass at the end of this month.

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip said that at present, about one million people who are due to receive their third dose have yet to do so.

As such, the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme has sent more than one million SMS messages over the past two weeks to these people reminding them to act promptly.

Mr Nip pointed out that currently, the COVID-19 vaccination rates of people aged three or above for the first and second doses are 91.5% and 85.6%.

Noting that the protection conferred by the vaccines will diminish over time, he urged members of the public to get vaccinated on time in accordance with expert advice.

“We need the proactive response from every member of the public in boosting the vaccination rate together and building a stronger protective barrier to cope with the future risks brought about by the potential emergence of new mutant strains,” Mr Nip added.