Two scientific committees under the Centre for Health Protection today suggested that residents and staff of residential care homes should be the first to receive the Covid jabs.
The two committees - the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases and the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases - put forward recommendations focused on two vaccines, namely the Fosun Pharma-BioNTech vaccines and the AstraZeneca vaccines.
The committees said priority should be accorded to high-risk groups that are most vulnerable to the development of severe disease or death from the infection and have greater risks of transmitting the virus to susceptible and vulnerable patients.
The Fosun Pharma-BioNTech vaccines and the AstraZeneca vaccines both consist of a schedule of two doses where individuals should complete their vaccination with the same type of vaccine.
According to the committees, workers in health-care settings, workers in other essential services who are at increased risk of exposure to Covid, and persons aged 60 years or above will be next in line for the vaccination.
“The priority will then go to persons with chronic medical problems aged between 16 and 59 years,” the committees added.
The suggestions were made after a meeting, joined by the Chief Executive's expert advisory panel, which reviewed the latest scientific evidence on the epidemiology and clinical features of COVID-19, published clinical data on the COVID-19 vaccines to be procured by the Government and local data, as well as recommendations and practices by overseas health authorities.
The committees said priority should be accorded to high-risk groups that are most vulnerable to the development of severe disease or death from the infection and have greater risks of transmitting the virus to susceptible and vulnerable patients.
The Fosun Pharma-BioNTech vaccines and the AstraZeneca vaccines both consist of a schedule of two doses where individuals should complete their vaccination with the same type of vaccine.
According to the committees, workers in health-care settings, workers in other essential services who are at increased risk of exposure to Covid, and persons aged 60 years or above will be next in line for the vaccination.
“The priority will then go to persons with chronic medical problems aged between 16 and 59 years,” the committees added.
The suggestions were made after a meeting, joined by the Chief Executive's expert advisory panel, which reviewed the latest scientific evidence on the epidemiology and clinical features of COVID-19, published clinical data on the COVID-19 vaccines to be procured by the Government and local data, as well as recommendations and practices by overseas health authorities.