The SUN HK : Free jabs of BioNTech vaccine for children given starting today

Giving free BioNTech vaccine for toddlers started today

Starting today, Nov. 9, children aged between 6 months and 4 years could receive the BioNTech vaccine specially formulated for toddlers for free at four Children Community Vaccination Centres (CCVCs).

Sinovac vaccines have been made available to children in this age group for the past few months, and doctors say both vaccines give effective protection.

Since the free BioNTech vaccination was announced beforehand, about 750 bookings had already been made as of last night, said the Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung.

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However, the overall vaccine intake of children aged below 3 remains low, with only about 19% of 104,000 kids in this age group having received their first dose of a Covid-19 jab.

Yeung urged parents to get their children vaccinated as soon as possible as the coming winter could put them at greater health risk.

“Winter is a challenge to children who have weaker resistance to diseases. The later they get vaccinated, the greater the health risks may be posed to them,” she said.

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With Christmas approaching, she said parents who intend to leave for abroad should at least take their young children for their first vaccine dose, and if time permits, let them receive their second dose before their trip.

“Unvaccinated children will have higher risks of getting seriously ill should they get infected, and seeking medical treatment abroad may be complicated. Recovered children may have to suffer from the after-effects of 'post COVID-19 condition' as well,” she said.

Meanwhile, 23 children have come down with upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in a new outbreak of the disease at a child care centre in Mong Kok.

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The Centre for Health Protection said the sick children comprised 14 boys and nine girls aged between five months and three years old. They developed fever, runny nose and cough since Nov 1 but all tested negative for Covid-19 in their rapid antigen test.

Four of the children had to be hospitalized after they tested positive for enterovirus/rhinovirus.

CHP appealed to the public and staff of institutions to stay alert and maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene.

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To get the BioNTech toddler vaccine for their children, parents have to make prior bookings online at any of the following four CCVs:

Hong Kong Children's Hospital CCVC
Address: G/F, Clinical Tower (Tower B), Hong Kong Children's Hospital, 1 Shing Cheong Road, Kowloon Bay

HKU CCVC at Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong (on Tuesdays and Sundays)
Address: 1 Nam Fung Path, Wong Chuk Hang

CUHK Medical Centre (on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays)
Address: 9 Chak Cheung Street, Sha Tin

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Osman Ramju Sadick Memorial Sports Centre
Address: 176 Hing Fong Road, Kwai Chung

Children aged 6 months to 4 years should have their first two doses of the BioNTech vaccine at an interval of at least eight weeks.

But this could be shortened to three weeks with the parents’ informed consent, with due regard for the child’s personal needs, as well as the risk and benefit of giving the vaccine earlier than the prescribed interval.

For the second and third dose, a three-month interval is prescribed.

The government said it will continue to provide schools with special booking and transportation services for children given permission by their parents to receive the vaccine.

The consent form for parents who will arrange their children to receive the BioNTech vaccine can be downloaded from the designated website of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/Consent_Form_for_Fractional_BioNTech_Vaccination_ENG.pdf).

Apart from the consent form, children aged 3 to 11 have to be accompanied by an adult family member, a domestic helper or a school teacher to receive vaccination; children aged below 3 have to be accompanied by their parents/guardians in person when receiving vaccination.

Persons have to bring along the original identity documents on the date of vaccination. If the identity documents do not bear the child's photo, such as the birth certificate, for children already attending a school, they have to present school documents (such as school handbooks) bearing a photo of the student at the time of vaccination.