The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, paid a visit to the School of General Nursing at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) today (August 13) and participated in a staff sharing webinar "Our Family fought against COVID-19", organised by Kowloon Central Cluster, Hospital Authority. Professor Chan also talked with representatives of departments with high vaccination rates, and appealed for the support from frontline healthcare staff and members of the public to get vaccinated.
 
     "Healthcare colleagues working in hospitals take care of patients every day and their infection risk of COVID-19 is relatively higher. Therefore, colleagues should get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect patients, themselves and their families," Professor Chan said while having an exchange with department representatives.
 
     "The vaccination rate of Hospital Authority staff has reached 82.8 per cent. Over 94 per cent of medical staff, 80 per cent of nursing and allied health colleagues have received vaccines. More than 86 per cent of clinical support staff have been vaccinated. Thank you for the continuous support from HA staff on the vaccination programme of the Government."
 
     Professor Chan was pleased to learn that many staff in Kowloon Central Cluster have received vaccinations. The vaccination rate in some hospitals and departments are very satisfactory. Professor Chan praised that they were acting as role models to motivate more frontline staff to get vaccinated. "The COVID-19 situation all over the world is still serious. In the face of challenges posed by mutant strains, citizens should fulfil their civic responsibility and receive vaccines extensively in order to strengthen the immunity barrier in Hong Kong. I appeal for the support from those healthcare workers who have not received vaccinations to get vaccinated in support of the 'Early Vaccination for All' campaign proactively, with a view to protecting themselves and others, and building up the immunity barrier in Hong Kong," Professor Chan noted further.
 
     In the webinar "Our Family fought against COVID-19", Professor Chan listened to the sharing from a patient recovering from COVID-19, and how his family of five members fought against the disease for more than two months.
 
     In the webinar, the patient Eddy shared that his parents, elder brother and niece were confirmed with COVID-19 in July 2020. He also shared the experience of recovery treatment in the isolation ward at QEH. He expressed gratitude to all frontline healthcare workers. The Head of Infectious Diseases Team, Department of Medicine, QEH, Dr Wu Tak-chiu, highlighted how the medical team fought against COVID-19 together with Eddy's family by providing professional and prompt treatment to the family. Both of them had the same feeling that family members of various ages could get infected and therefore they encouraged members of the public to receive vaccinations as soon as possible.
 
     As at August 12, over 13,600 staff in Kowloon Central Cluster have received vaccinations. The 10,000th colleague receiving a vaccination in the cluster was identified on July 27. To mark such a landmark, Professor Chan and the Cluster Chief Executive, Kowloon Central Cluster, Dr Albert Lo, presented a certificate to the 10,000th staff member receiving a vaccination in the cluster as an encouragement. "In light of frontline healthcare staff's job nature or the possibility of coming into frequent contact with the public, including patients and visitors, getting vaccinated is of great urgency," Dr Lo added.
 
     For more details about the event, please browse the QEH Facebook Fan Page.

Ends/Friday, August 13, 2021
Issued at HKT 20:52

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