Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor meets with members of the media at the Central Government Office on Feb 23, 2021. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong on Tuesday started its online registration for the city’s coronavirus vaccination program, with 70,000 residents registering as of 4 pm, snapping up slots for the two weeks between Feb 26 and March 11.

Meeting the press before the first Executive Council meeting after Lunar New Year, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the government will try harder to counter disinformation related to COVID-19 vaccines and the vaccination program, which begins on Friday.

The slots for inoculation at the city’s 18 general out-patient clinics had been fully booked

The 70,000 who had signed up belong to five prioritized groups including frontline health workers, senior citizens aged 60 or above, workers and residents of care homes, people providing essential public services and those engaged in cross-boundary transport services.

The slots for inoculation at the city’s 18 general out-patient clinics had been fully booked, nine hours after the registration opened to the public.

Lam, followed by high-ranking officials, Executive Councilors and lawmakers, was inoculated with a dose of the mainland-made Sinovac vaccine on Monday afternoon. Lam said she felt good and no one reported any side effects.

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There will be four channels for vaccination. Members of the public can get vaccination at 29 Community Vaccination Centres (CVCs) in the 18 districts across the territory, more than 1,500 private clinics, and 18 general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority. Outreach teams will also go to residential care homes for the elderly and homes for persons with disabilities to provide on-site vaccination.

Private doctors cannot charge members of the public any extra fees for vaccination under the government's vaccination program

Healthcare staff will provide vaccination services to the public at the CVCs. Among the CVCs, five of them will provide the Sinovac vaccine while 24 of them will provide the Fosun Pharma/BioNTech vaccine. The CVCs will commence operation in phases, depending on the arrival of the vaccines in Hong Kong, their quantity and the situation of the vaccination.

People belonging to the priority groups for vaccination can make appointments online to receive the Sinovac vaccine at five CVCs and the 18 general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority starting Feb 26. Private doctors participating in the vaccination program will start administering the Sinovac vaccine to other members of the public before mid-March.

According to a government statement, private doctors will receive a subsidy of HK$80 per dose of vaccine administered to members of the public. An additional subsidy of HK$40 will be given if the same private doctor completes the administration of two doses of vaccine for the same resident. Private doctors cannot charge members of the public any extra fees for vaccination under the government's vaccination program.

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Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said he expects the Fosun Pharma/BioNTech vaccine to arrive in the city in one or two days.

With Bloomberg inputs