HKSAR chief executive urges active vaccination against COVID-19

HONG KONG, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam Tuesday called on unvaccinated Hong Kong residents, especially children and the elderly, to get jabs against COVID-19.

"From the fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong, it is clearly shown that vaccination is highly efficacious in preventing or reducing hospitalization and the chance of developing severe complications after infection," she said during a visit to a community vaccination center.

Those who have received vaccination should receive the second and third doses in a timely manner to protect themselves and others and build a stronger protective shield for Hong Kong, she said.

The HKSAR government will continue to pursue a multi-pronged approach in striving to boost the vaccination rates of four key groups to 90 percent by the end of April, namely the second-dose vaccination rate of people aged 12 or above as well as the first-dose vaccination rates of children aged 3 to 11, elderly people in residential care homes and elderly people aged 70 or above, Lam said.

On Monday, Hong Kong registered 3,164 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 4,432 additional positive cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests, official data showed.