Professor Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, Head of the Infectious Diseases Centre, Department of Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, said that the overall COVID-19 epidemic in Hong Kong is gradually declining. However, with local citizens travelling abroad and an increase in Hong Kong tourists, the circulation of infectious disease viruses has also accelerated, posing risks to the elderly and chronically ill. Therefore, it is recommended that high-risk groups should receive a booster dose six months after their last COVID-19 vaccination or infection to strengthen protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do the elderly still need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 \/ get a booster jab?<\/strong> Government-provided free COVID-19 vaccinations<\/strong> Existing vaccine types<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Original strain inactivated vaccine<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Original strain inactivated vaccine<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Original strain inactivated vaccine<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Manufacturing Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Inactivated virus<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Messenger RNA technology (mRNA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Messenger RNA technology (mRNA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Origin<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n China<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Germany<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Germany<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Antigen<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Original virus strain<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Original virus strain<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Original strain + The mRNA bivalent vaccine covers Omicron variant strains, including the XBB sub-variant, providing more comprehensive protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research indicates that a month after receiving the mRNA bivalent vaccine booster, antibody levels against Omicron BA.4\/5 increased 13.2-fold in individuals aged 55 and over. Furthermore, the bivalent vaccine was found to be more effective than the original strain vaccine in preventing hospitalisation and death among the elderly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you wish to get vaccinated, citizens can go to:<\/strong> The data was provided by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u6e2f\u5927\u91ab\u5b78\u9662\u5167\u79d1\u5b78\u7cfb\u50b3\u67d3\u75c5\u79d1\u4e3b\u4efb\u53ca\u81e8\u5e8a\u6559\u6388\u5b54\u7e41\u6bc5\u8868\u793a\uff0c\u672c\u6e2f\u6574\u9ad4\u65b0\u51a0\u75ab\u60c5\u6b63\u9010\u6b65\u56de\u843d\u3002\u4e0d\u904e\uff0c\u96a8\u8457\u672c\u5730\u5e02\u6c11\u524d\u5f80\u5916\u904a\u4ee5\u53ca […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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The novel coronavirus can cause symptoms such as fever, dry cough, and fatigue, and in severe cases, can lead to complications including respiratory failure, sepsis, shock, organ failure, and even death.
In Hong Kong, over 95% of COVID-19 deaths were among people aged 60 or over, indicating that older people\u2014both those living in care homes and those not\u2014are at high risk from COVID-19. Only by getting vaccinated in a timely manner can the risk of severe illness and death be reduced, and the long-term effects of \u2018long COVID\u2019 be minimised.
Even if the elderly have been vaccinated against COVID-19, their antibodies will gradually decrease over time, which will not be sufficient to protect them from another severe infection. Therefore, a booster jab is needed to raise their immunity again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government is providing free vaccination services for the first three doses and an additional booster in 2023 for individuals aged 50 and over. The types of vaccines available include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Omicron variant<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Designated clinic\/hospital vaccination station under the Hospital Authority (providing mRNA and inactivated vaccines);
Private clinic COVID-19 vaccination centre (offering mRNA and inactivated vaccines);
Department of Health Elderly Health Centre (inactivated vaccine only)<\/p>\n\n\n\n