Hong Kong to commission 13 medical organizations for door-to-door vaccination services

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Hong Kong to commission 13 medical organizations for door-to-door vaccination services

HONG KONG The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said on Friday it would commission 13 medical organizations to provide door-to- door vaccination services for elderly and other eligible residents to improve service efficiency.

The Home Vaccination Service was established in mid-April to provide the outreach service to elderly people aged 70 or above, people with a disability, and those with chronic illnesses that can't go out to get jabbed.

The government will commission medical organizations for each district to provide through-train services under the new operation mode. The medical organizations will be responsible for making phone calls to people registered for the service, arranging appointments, mapping the itinerary and providing door-to- door vaccination service, according to a government statement by Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung HoYeung Ho Poi-yan.

The government expects the new arrangements to be more flexible, thoughtful and efficient with a more efficient workflow, according to Yeung.

More than 31,400 people have registered for the program since its launch this year. Nearly 1,700 outreach teams have been deployed to administer more than 34,300 vaccine doses to elderly persons aged 70 or above and other eligible residents across the territory.

ALSO READ: HK's older adults advised to get 4th COVID 19 shot.

The government will inform registrants by SMS or by post on their name and the enquiry number of the medical organizations assigned to serve them. Members of the public are reminded that the vaccination service is free of charge and that medical organizations should not be charging any fees.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection, said at a news conference that of the 217 imported cases 108 were confirmed at the airport, 95 at quarantine hotels and 27 after they had finished their quarantine.

Chuang said four more patients who had been infected with COVID-19 had passed away, bringing the tally to 9,346 since the fifth wave of the outbreak.