Schoolchildren drop in for jabs before term starts

Some schoolchildren taking advantage of the new walk-in service for Covid jabs said on Friday that they wanted to get inoculated before the new term starts, as they’re hoping their school life will soon get back to normal.

Students aged 12 or above can now get a same-day ticket for jabs at 24 community vaccination centres, on a first-come, first-served basis each day.

A secondary two student surnamed Tam was among a few teenagers who queued up outside the Boundary Street vaccination centre on Friday morning.

“I’m afraid there’ll be restrictions and I’ll be told to have lessons at home, so I got my jab. I wanted to wait… before getting vaccinated, because I was afraid of the side effects… Now I’m not afraid. Covid is more scary,” he said.

“Originally I wanted to book online but I heard the government is giving same day tickets so I came to try my luck.”

Meanwhile, a secondary three student surnamed Ho said it’s now more convenient to just walk in and get a shot and others won’t have to wait for their appointment like she did.

“It is better to have same day tickets so people won’t have to make an online booking and wait for their turn. Because they may forget about their appointment,” she said.