Jab centres to stay open longer after bookings boom

Hong Kong’s coronavirus vaccination centres will stay open for an extra month after a recent uptick in bookings, the government announced on Friday.

The territory’s 29 vaccine sites were due to close at the end of September, but 26 of them will now remain open until the end of October. First doses of vaccine will be provided in September, and second doses the following month.

“The demand for Covid-19 vaccination has increased recently. Should the vaccination progress be maintained at the current pace or increase, it is likely that 70 percent of the eligible population will at least have had their first dose of a vaccine by the end of September,” a government spokesman said.

“In view of the demand for vaccination and the vaccination progress, the government has decided to extend the operation of community vaccination centres until October 31.”

A statement added that a significant increase in Hong Kong’s vaccination rate would mean “restoring normality to society sooner rather than later.”

Meanwhile, the Hospital Authority said it would extend its vaccination services using Sinovac jabs at around two dozen general out-patient clinics until the end of October. After then, the clinics will focus their manpower and resources on flu and pneumococcal vaccinations, it said.

The announcements came as the latest shipment of about 956,000 doses of the BioNTech vaccine arrived in Hong Kong from Germany on Friday.

The authorities say 50 percent of the 6.8 million people in Hong Kong who are eligible for vaccination against Covid have now received at least one dose. The inoculation drive has been going since the end of February.