Hong Kong warns of ‘further increase’ in local Covid-19 activity; high-risk groups urged to get vaccinated
Hong Kong Free Press
Covid-19 activity in Hong Kong is expected to see a “further increase,” local health authorities have warned. High-risk individuals – including pregnant women and healthcare workers – are urged to get vaccinated or receive a booster shot.
The risk posed by Covid-19 still exists in Hong Kong, while virus activity in the city and neighbouring regions has continued to increase, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) warned on Thursday.
The virus, which first hit Hong Kong in early 2020, still presents rising waves around every four to six weeks in the city, and there has been an uptick in activity since June. Around 9.07 per cent of the respiratory specimens examined by the CHP’s Public Health Laboratory Services Branch tested positive for Covid-19, the CHP said.
“The CHP expected that the local activity of Covid-19 may further increase. High-risk priority groups should get vaccinated as soon as possible and receive booster doses at appropriate times,” the government said in an English statement.
Initial vaccination simplified
The CHP announced that the arrangements for initial vaccination would be simplified starting on August 19. Instead of three doses, people aged five or above would be considered fully vaccinated if they had received one dose of the mRNA Covid-19 vaccine or two doses of an inactivated vaccine.
For children aged between six months and four years, who had already been infected with Covid-19, they would be seen as having completed initial vaccination by receiving one dose of the mRNA Covid-19 vaccine or two doses of an inactivated vaccine. For those who had not been infected, they would need two or three doses, based on recommendations of the vaccine manufacturers, in order to be considered fully protected.
Hong Kong residents aged 50 or above, anyone aged six months and above with immunocompromising conditions, pregnant women, healthcare workers, and people aged 18 to 49 years with underlying conditions may continue to receive a booster shot for free in the year 2024/25.
The existing Sinovac vaccines in Hong Kong will expire on October 3, the CHP said. The supplier has confirmed that the production of the Chinese-manufactured vaccine would soon cease.
JN.1 lineage jab
The CHP added Hong Kong would have JN.1 lineage Covid-19 vaccines for use by the end of the year. The World Health Organization recommended in April that future formulations of Covid-19 jabs should aim to induce antibody responses JN.1 and its descent lineages. It came after the variant was declared as a variant of interest by the WHO last December, as its prevalence increased rapidly globally.
Hong Kong first reported cases of Covid-19 in late January 2020. The epidemic saw several waves of infection, with the city’s death rate soaring to the highest in the developed world in March 2022. Most social distancing measures were lifted in December 2022, while the mask ban was scrapped last March.
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https://hongkongfp.com/2024/08/09/hong-kong-warns-of-further-increase-of-local-covid-19-activity/