Dear
Colleagues,
Thank you very much for your ongoing contributions towards fighting the virus.
We
are now into the 6th month of the COVID-19 vaccination programme and
the official covid vaccine dashboard is showing that over 5.7 million doses
have been administered locally. However, the uptake of the vaccine in the
elderly age group seems to be lagging behind, with 13.8% for people aged 60 –
69, 4.5% for those aged 70 – 79, and only 0.9% for elderly aged 80 and above. (https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/en/dashboard)
The
Centre of Health Protection (CHP) has recently issued two documents on covid-19
vaccinations, and the following were extracts related to COVID-19 vaccination
in the elderly.
1,
Interim Guidance Notes On Common Medical Diseases and COVID-19 Vaccination In
Primary Care Settings (As of July 15, 2021)
Elderly
and individuals with chronic diseases have increased risk of morbidity and
mortality from COVID-19 infection. Unless with contraindications, COVID-19
vaccines are highly recommended for the elderly and individuals with stable
medical diseases. (https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/Guidance_Notes.pdf)
2, Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases and Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases Consensus Interim Recommendations on the Use of COVID-19 Vaccines in Hong Kong (As of 22 July 2021)
“Elderly should receive COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible, well before the arrival of the winter influenza season.” (https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/consensus_interim_recommendations_on_the_use_of_covid19_vaccines_in_hk_22jul21.pdf)
As reiterated above by the experts, please continue to help building up our defense against the virus by discussing with the patients, especially people who are in the elderly age group.
In case you were unable to attend the “HKAM Webinar: Joint HKCFP – HKCP Forum on COVID-19 Vaccination in Elderly” (which was well attended by almost 600 medical practitioners) held within our HKPCC 2021 last Saturday (31 July 2021), please find in the following email for links to the webinar recording and the joint press statement.
Please keep well and stay safe.
With
best wishes,
Dr David Chao
President
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The “HKAM
Webinar: Joint HKCFP – HKCP Forum on COVID-19 Vaccination in Elderly”
was held last Saturday (31 July 2021), with around 600 medical practitioners
attended.
The key take-away messages of the webinar are shared below for
your information:
醫生主動向長者講解 釋除疫苗疑慮
慢性病或曾打流感針 盡快接種疫苗
You may access the webinar recording and press statement from
the following links:
