Coronavirus: Hong Kong opening walk-in vaccinations to students aged 12 and older on Friday

The plan will see about 200 slots made available each day at more than 20 inoculation centres in bid to push jabs ahead of new school year

City confirms five new imported Covid-19 cases involving arrivals from the Philippines, United Arab Emirates, France and Pakistan

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Hongkongers between the ages of 12 and 17 will be allowed to get Covid-19 vaccinations on a walk-in basis from Friday. Photo: May Tse

Published: 2:19pm, 25 Aug 2021Updated: 9:12am, 26 Aug 2021

A new programme offering walk-in coronavirus vaccinations to Hong Kong students aged 12 and older will launch on Friday in a bid to encourage the young to get jabbed before their summer holiday ends.

The arrangement was unveiled on Wednesday as infectious disease experts, including government pandemic adviser Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, said the city’s “zero case” strategy and living with the virus were not mutually exclusive, while urging the public to get jabbed while infections remained low.

Young people aged at least 12 – the minimum for Covid-19 vaccination – who are studying at primary, secondary or tertiary level will be eligible for the same-day ticket arrangement available at 24 of the city’s 29 vaccination centres.

“As the summer holiday is coming to an end, we hope this arrangement will assist students and parents who have not yet been vaccinated [in doing so],” a government spokesman said.

The city confirmed five new imported Covid-19 case, involving arrivals from the Philippines, United Arab Emirates, France and Pakistan, taking the overall tally to 12,074, with 212 related deaths.

The Centre for Health Protection, meanwhile, also issued a mandatory testing notice for residents and recent visitors of Wing Cheung House in Sha Tin’s Sui Wo Court.

The move followed notification by British authorities that a 42-year-old woman living in the building during her incubation period had tested positive after arriving in Britain on August 16.