简体中文
Hong Kong public health clinics for children will have a new monthly cap on services for non-local children in light of a surge in mainland enquiries following an expired vaccine scare.
The SAR’s Department of Health announced on Wednesday that a monthly quota of 120 for non-eligible children to receive services, including vaccines, in the city’s 31 Maternal and Child Health Centres.
That will leave every center in the city with only two to seven non-local bookings.
The 1,440-annual-cap on children receiving vaccinations will start April 1 and comes as telephone booking services were inundated with inquiries following social media reports in February of an expired vaccine ring on the Chinese mainland which reached as far back as 2010 and affected cities in 24 provinces.
Department assistant director of health Theresa Li said inquiries had surged and interest had undoubtedly spiked for the past week to around 120 telephone vaccines bookings on Tuesday, compared to less than a few every day in recent years.
Li said some of the centers are fully booked until May and more than 120 non-eligible children had already sought or booked services in 12 centers in Fanling, Kowloon City and Tuen Mun.
Li stressed local children will be shown preference and will have priority status in the event of any expected vaccine shortage, adding there was no current threats to local stockpiles.
Vaccinations can still be purchased through private practitioners which are not subject to any caps.
A total of 1,300 non-local children received vaccinations in local centers last year, with around 110 of them each month. Li stressed the department will halt the service for non-local children if necessary.
Li, on the other hand, suggested that children to receive immunization in their usual place of residence for comprehensive protection against childhood infectious diseases and not receive vaccination during travel.
（CHINADAILY）
