The Hong Kong government will launch the COVID-19 Mobile Vaccination Station on Dec 3, 2021. It will first provide services in the vicinity of Sun Chui Estate in Sha Tin. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG - The Hong Kong government said it will launch the COVID-19 mobile vaccination station on Dec 3 to facilitate members of the public, in particular the elderly, to get vaccinated "in a convenient and efficient manner at their gathering places in the community."

In statements issued on Saturday, the government also said 11 community vaccination centers will be closed by the end of this year.

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“In view of the supply of vaccines and the demand for vaccination, the government will adjust the mode of operation of the vaccination program by gradually shifting the focus from providing vaccination services mainly through CVCs as in the past to a variety of vaccination venues including CVCs, Hospital COVID-19 Vaccination Stations, private clinics and the coming mobile vaccination station, etc,” the government said.

Launched on Feb 26 as the citywide COVID-19 vaccination program began, the community vaccination centers will have been in operation for 10 months by the end of this year

Among the 11 CVCs to be closed, five are located in the New Terrorities (Tin Fai Road Sports Centre, Tseung Kwan O Sports Centre, Lung Sum Avenue Sports Centre, Yau Oi Sports Centre and Tung Chung Community Hall), another five in Kowloon (Kowloon Bay Sports Centre, Ho Man Tin Sports Centre, Boundary Street Sports Centre, Education Bureau Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre and Choi Hung Road Badminton Centre) and the remaining one on Hong Kong Island (Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre).

Launched on Feb 26 as the citywide COVID-19 vaccination program began, these centers will have been in operation for 10 months by the end of this year, the government said.

The government added that 10 community vaccination centers will extend their operation until the end of March next year.

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They are the three providing the Sinovac vaccine (located at Java Road Sports Centre, Kwun Chung Sports Centre and Yuen Wo Road Sports Centre) and the seven providing the Fosun/BioNTech vaccine (located at Sai Wan Ho Sports Centre, Hiu Kwong Street Sports Centre, Lai Chi Kok Park Sports Centre, Yuen Long Sports Centre, Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong, CUHK Medical Centre and Osman Ramju Sadick Memorial Sports Centre).

There will be temporary waiting and resting areas at open spaces next to the vaccination vehicle and free medical consultation services will be available to people who are planning to get vaccinated on the spot, the government said

Meanwhile, new HCVSs will be set up in Princess Margaret Hospital and Ruttonjee Hospital on Dec 10, bringing the number of HCVSs to 11.

Operating as a vaccination vehicle, the COVID-19 Mobile Vaccination Station “is a new attempt to serve members of the public in different locations in a short period of time,” the government said.

The procedures of receiving a vaccination on the vaccination vehicle are the same as that in Community Vaccination Centres, the government noted.

“There will be temporary waiting and resting areas at open spaces next to the vaccination vehicle and free medical consultation services will be available to people who are planning to get vaccinated on the spot,” the government said.

It is also equipped with a wheelchair lift for people with impaired mobility.

Only one type of vaccine – the BioNTech or Sinovac vaccine – will be provided at the vaccination vehicle. Members of the public can choose to receive their first, second or third dose of vaccination at the station.

It will first provide services in the vicinity of Sun Chui Estate in Sha Tin, with operating hours from 10 am to 5 pm. The last on-site registration time is at 4:30 pm. Prior booking through a hotline and walk-in services for eligible persons are both available.

As of Friday, more than 4.72 million Hong Kong people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, accounting for 70.2 percent of the eligible population. Some 4.51 million people, or 67.1 percent of those eligible, are fully vaccinated with two doses.