An elderly woman pushes a cart with a cardboard box for recycling in Hong Kong on March 8, 2021. (ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)

HONG KONG - The Hong Kong government on Monday announced to allow all residents aged 30 years old and above to get COVID-19 vaccines as the city saw a spike in infections.

People aged 30 to 59, students aged 16 and above and who study overseas and domestic helpers will be eligible to book the shots from Tuesday morning, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said at a briefing.

People aged 30 to 59, students aged 16 and above and study overseas and domestic helpers will be eligible to book the shots from Tuesday morning, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said

Previously, only those older than 60, as well as employees whose workplaces are considered vulnerable to the virus, such as restaurants and care homes, were allowed to get inoculated. 

Now, more than 5.5 million people in the city will have access to the vaccines.

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As of 1 pm on Monday, 198,100 people had received their first dose of coronavirus vaccine, either BioNTech one or Sinovac, Nip said, assuring the public that there is an ample supply of the two types of vaccines.

Six Hong Kong residents died days after taking the Sinovac shots. No direct link has been found by the city’s expert panel between the vaccination and any of the deaths.

BioNTech jabs can be administered at 19 community vaccination centers; Sinovac shots are offered at eight centers, 18 general out-patient clinics and more than 2,000 private clinics.

New slots will be provided online on a rolling basis, with 23,000 shots per day.

“If the number of new cases remains high double-digits, if the vaccination rate is not as good as expected, we will inevitably consider re-tightening social distancing rules and closing (entertainment) venues,” Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said at the same briefing.

The health chief said that if the vaccination program turns out well, the curbs could be further relaxed, adding that vaccination rate is also a crucial indicator for the resumption of cross-boundary travel.

Chan appealed to residents to get the jabs as soon as possible to develop immunity and avoid wasting jabs, particularly BioNTech does which have to be stored in a freezer at a temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius.

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