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About HKCFP > President’s Message

June 2021

As we went past the milestone of 100 days of COVID-19 vaccination programme implementation, the uptake rate of the vaccination could be described as lukewarm only. According to the recent official figures, the total number of doses administered was around 2.9 million, with 1.7 million of the total population given the first vaccine dose and 1.2 million given the second vaccine dose respectively.

Individuals may have doubts and worries about the COVID-19 vaccine. Family doctors provide comprehensive, continuing, holistic and personalised care to people in the community, looking after their physical, social and psychological aspects of health. People with chronic diseases, e.g., diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and those at advanced age have increased risks of morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 infection. The benefit of COVID-19 vaccination among those with clinically stable conditions generally outweighs the risk unless there is clear contraindication. (please click) Recent experiences in other parts of the world show that a higher percentage of population vaccinated against COVID-19 can facilitate the return to normalcy. Vaccination against COVID-19 will not only protect oneself, but also one’s family and friends, as well as the community. The Hong Kong Academy of Medicine together with the Hong Kong College of Family Physicians, the Hong Kong College of Paediatricians and the Hong Kong College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists issued a joint statement on 26 May 2021 to further encourage the public to receive COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible to help the society moving towards resumption of our normal daily lives. (please click)

By the way, in the June issue of the Hong Kong Practitioner, Dr. Weng-yee Chin shared with us on the role of family doctors in addressing vaccine hesitancy, which is well worth reading.

On 1 June 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) validated the Sinovac CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving countries, funders, procuring agencies and communities the assurance that it meets international standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing. (please click) Therefore, with WHO’s previous approval of Fosun/BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine, both locally available vaccines have now got the blessing by WHO for emergency use.

World Blood Donor Day aims at raising the awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products for transfusion and of the critical contribution voluntary, unpaid blood donors make to national health systems across the globe. World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) takes place on 14 June each year. For 2021, the theme of the WBDD is “Give blood and keep the world beating” which highlights the crucial contribution of blood donors in keeping the world pulsating by saving lives and improving others’ health.

As in the previous years, our College holds several career talks to provide an introduction on Family Medicine training and career development opportunities for potential future family doctors. The HKCFP Career Talk 2021 organised by our Young Doctors Committee is one of them and it took place online on 11 June 2021, which was well attended by over 150 participants. This year, there were sharing on Family Medicine basic and higher training, followed by special interests and career development options in different settings. It was concluded by providing some practical tips on application for training posts in Family Medicine. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Young Doctors Committee, especially the Co-chairs Dr. Chan Chi Wai and Dr. Tse Sut Yee for leading the team.

Please keep well and stay safe.

Dr. David V K CHAO
President


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