The Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases (SCVPD) under the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) makes recommendations regarding the HKCIP from public health perspective.

Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) provide immunisation to children from birth to 5 years according to the HKCIP ( See attachment). As for primary school children, vaccination is provided at schools by the DH's outreaching School Immunisation Teams (SIT). In addition to visiting primary schools to provide vaccination to students, there are sub-offices under SIT for mop-up vaccination for primary school students who have not yet completed immunisation recommended under the HKCIP.

All 29 Maternal and Child Health Centres under the Department of Health provide immunisation services for infants and young children from birth to five years of age according to the "Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme". The Department of Health can administer the remaining required vaccines to affected children as per the usual arrangements of the "Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme". Eligible children do not need to pay, defined as follows:

• A holder of HKID Card issued under the Registration of Persons Ordinance (Chapter 177), except those who obtained their HKID Card by virtue of a previous permission to land or remain in Hong Kong granted to them and for whom such permission has expired or ceased to be valid;
• Children who are Hong Kong residents and under 11 years of age;
• Other persons approved by the Director of Health.

Children from birth to 5 years living in Hong Kong
They can receive vaccinations according to the HKCIP in MCHCs. For details about fees and charges, please refer to website: https://www.fhs.gov.hk/english/fee_cha/general_pub/general_pub.html
If parents want to arrange vaccinations that are not included in the HKCIP (e.g. Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) vaccine, meningococcal vaccine, hepatitis A vaccine, Japanese encephalitis vaccine, rotavirus vaccine) for their children, please consult their family doctor for professional advice.

For information about family doctors who can provide vaccination service, please use the “Doctor Search” function in the eHealth app which is linked to the Primary Care Directory:
https://apps.pcdirectory.gov.hk/Public/EN/AdvancedSearch?ProfID=RMP

School-age children living in Hong Kong
For children studying primary schools in Hong Kong or school-age Hong Kong residents, their parents can make appointment with SIT by phone at 2615 8565 or 2615 8563. SIT will provide mop-up according to the HKCIP.

Children who are not living in Hong Kong
As different localities have their own childhood immunisation programme based on their epidemiology, DH recommends parents to arrange vaccination for their children according to the immunisation programme in their usual place of residence to protect children’s health. Parents should bring their children along with their immunisation record to consult the local health care professionals.

Most of the vaccines produced by different pharmaceutical manufacturers in the market are interchangeable, i.e. same type of vaccines of different brands can be used to complete the recommended series of vaccination. Parents should bring their child and all vaccination records to consult healthcare professionals in either the public or private sector.

Children should complete their vaccinations on time according to the "Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme" to ensure they have adequate protection. Unvaccinated children do not have immunity against related infectious diseases, making them susceptible to infections such as measles and whooping cough. Parents should bring their child and all vaccination records to consult healthcare professionals in either the public or private sector to arrange for completing the vaccinations as soon as possible. Additionally, parents and children should maintain personal and environmental hygiene at all times. Before children complete their vaccinations, it is advisable to avoid taking them to areas with outbreaks of related infectious diseases or with high disease incidence. Members of the public planning to travel can visit the Department of Health's Travel Health Service website (https://www.travelhealth.gov.hk/english/index.html) for information on infectious disease situation abroad.

Public Sector
For children affected by the incident and have been registered with one of the Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs), their parents may make an appointment by calling the registered MCHCs to consult the healthcare staff on the vaccinations that their children need to receive in the future.

For a small number of children who have not been registered with the MCHCs, parents can call the nearby MCHCs (https://www.fhs.gov.hk/english/centre_det/maternal/maternal.html). Information on the services and booking procedures of the MCHCs is available at www.fhs.gov.hk.

Private Sector
The Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission) has engaged with family doctors and healthcare facilities. Currently, there is a stable supply of relevant vaccines in the private sector, and the service providers are ready to provide vaccination services to people in need. To this end, the PHC Commission has reminded family doctors listed in the Primary Care Directory (PCD) to update their practice information, particularly on the provision of vaccination services, to enable citizens in need to identify suitable family doctors. Members of the public can search for the practice information of relevant family doctors by selecting immunisation (including various vaccines for children) under "Services Provision" in the PCD (apps.pcdirectory.gov.hk/Public/EN/AdvancedSearch?ProfID=RMP). They are advised to contact the relevant family doctors in advance to confirm service details, fees and other relevant matters before making vaccination arrangements."

Even if a child has received some vaccines at private hospitals or clinics, the healthcare staff at Maternal and Child Health Centres can verify and assess the remaining vaccines needed for the child according to the recommendations of the "Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme" through the Electronic Health System for children with registered eHealth account, or by using the paper immunisation record (commonly known as the "vaccination card") provided by the parents. They can then arrange timely vaccinations for the remaining vaccines to protect the child's health.

If the child has a registered eHealth account, all vaccines administered at Maternal and Child Health Centres since 2007 and at primary schools across Hong Kong since 2013, as well as vaccinations under the "Vaccination Subsidy Scheme," are recorded in eHealth.

The safety, efficacy and quality of vaccines provided by DH conform to the rigorous standard of the Pharmacy and Poisons Regulations. Same as other vaccines registered under the Pharmacy and Poisons Regulations, vaccines provided by DH are supported by scientific evidence and can protect children effectively. If parents want their children to receive a particular brand of vaccine due to personal consideration, please consult their family doctors.

For enquiries or appointment booking for vaccination service of primary school students, please contact SIT during office hours (Monday to Friday: 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm to 5:30 pm) by phone at 2615 8585 or 2615 8563.

Private doctors may also provide vaccines not included in the HKCIP to children according to individual needs, such as Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) vaccine, meningococcal vaccine, hepatitis A vaccine, Japanese encephalitis vaccine, rotavirus vaccine, etc. DH recommends parents to consult their family doctor if they want to arrange their children to receive these vaccines. For information about family doctors who can provide vaccination service, please use the “Doctor Search” function in the eHealth app which is linked to the Primary Care Directory: https://apps.pcdirectory.gov.hk/Public/EN/AdvancedSearch?ProfID=RMP

Both 6-in-1 and 5-in-1 combined vaccines available in the market contain ingredients that are also used in the 4-in-1 combined vaccines under the HKCIP, namely Diphtheria, Tetanus, acellular Pertussis & Inactivated Poliovirus vaccines. The 5-in-1 combined vaccine additionally contain Hib vaccine, while the 6-in-1 combined vaccine contains both Hib vaccine and Hepatitis B vaccines, in which Hepatitis B vaccine¹ is also recommended by the HKCIP.

Points to note:
Either 6-in-1 or 5-in-1 combined vaccine can be switched to 4-in-1 combined vaccine plus Hepatitis B vaccine without posting any problem. The vaccination schedule is similar to that of 4-in-1 combined vaccine provided by DH².

Apart from completing the remaining doses of 5-in-1 or 6-in-1 combined vaccine at their family doctors, parents can also make appointment with MCHCs to receive 4-in-1 combined vaccines and hepatitis B vaccine. For Hib vaccine, it is not included in the HKCIP after considering scientific evidence and so it is not provided by MCHCs.

For information about different vaccination services provided by family doctors, please use the “Doctor Search” function in the eHealth app which is linked to the Primary Care Directory:
https://apps.pcdirectory.gov.hk/Public/EN/AdvancedSearch?ProfID=RMP. Information related to 6-in-1 and 5-in-1 combined vaccines is available under the function of “Services Provision”.

¹There is no 5-in-1 combined vaccine with ingredients containing 4-in-1 combined vaccine and Hepatitis B vaccine in the market.

²Under the HKCIP, children need to receive 3 doses of 4-in-1 combined vaccine within first year of birth (at 2 months, 4 months and 6 months of age), followed by a booster dose at 18 months old. Two additional booster doses will be given when they are in primary 1 and primary 6 respectively. According to the manufacturers of the 5-in-1 and 6-in-1 combined vaccines, children can receive two or three doses of vaccine, and the subsequent booster doses to be given according to the local recommendations and healthcare professionals’ decision. Hepatitis B vaccines are administered at newborn, 1 month and 6 months of age.

If citizens are unable to complete their vaccinations with the same brand of vaccine due to individual circumstances or considerations, most vaccines produced by different manufacturers can be used interchangeably, i.e. vaccines of different brands can be used to complete the vaccination. Parents should bring their children along with their vaccination records to consult healthcare professionals in either public or private sectors.

For instance, a child who received brand A 6-in-1 combined vaccine previously, can receive brand B 4-in-1 combined vaccine, brand C Hepatitis B vaccine and brand D Hib vaccine according to the vaccination schedule, so as to gain immunity against the six infectious diseases.

Children should complete all doses of vaccination in a timely manner according to the immunisation schedule to ensure adequate immune protection. For those who have not completed all required vaccinations (e.g. only received 2 doses of 4-in-1 combined vaccines, without the 3rd dose and booster doses), they will be more susceptible to infections like pertussis, etc. because of inadequate immunity for the relevant infectious diseases. Young children with such infections may develop severe complications.

They can receive their second dose of influenza vaccine with at least 4-week interval from their first dose. The first and second dose of influenza vaccine can use different brands. For private clinics registered in the “Vaccination Subsidy Scheme”, please visit the webpage at: https://apps.hcv.gov.hk/public/en/SPS/Search

Apart from the regular HKCIP, according to the World Health Organization’s recommendation, DH has launched the HPV Vaccination Catch-up Programme in the 2024/25 school year to offer a one-off catch-up HPV vaccination to eligible female Hong Kong residents born between 2004 and 2008. This programme would be implemented in three phases for about two years.

The first phase targets full-time female students (including secondary sections of special schools) studying Secondary Five or above (or an equivalent grade) in Hong Kong. The second phase targets female Hong Kong residents studying in local post-secondary institutions who were born between 2004 and 2008 (with valid HKID). The above two phases have already started, please contact your schools/ institutions for details. The third phase targets female Hong Kong residents born between 2004 and 2008 who have completed their studies in Hong Kong, but have not received HPV vaccine yet. Details of the third phase will be announced in due course.
(https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/108084.html)

Eligible elderly persons aged 65 or above with high risk conditions³ can receive one dose of 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV15), followed by one dose of 23-valent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine one year after.

Eligible elderly persons can receive vaccinations provided by private doctors who have registered in the “Vaccination Subsidy Scheme”, please visit the webpage at: https://apps.hcv.gov.hk/public/en/SPS/Search

³ *High-risk conditions include:

• History of invasive pneumococcal disease, cerebrospinal fluid leakage or cochlear implant;
• Chronic cardiovascular (except hypertension without complication), lung, liver or kidney diseases;
• Metabolic diseases including diabetes mellitus or obesity (Body Mass Index 30 or above);
• Immunocompromised states related to weakened immune system due to conditions such as asplenia, HIV/AIDS or cancer/steroid treatment; and
• Chronic neurological conditions that can compromise respiratory functions, the handling of respiratory secretions, increase the risk for aspiration or those who lack the ability to take care of themselves.

Although some merchants may offer attractive special prices for prepaid medical services, it is important to recognise that medical services are not ordinary consumer products. Members of the public should avoid purchasing prepaid medical services (including vaccination plans) before consulting healthcare professionals regarding their personal health needs. In general, it is advisable to refrain from purchasing prepaid medical services which cover lengthy periods, as one’s clinical needs may change with time, rendering such prearranged treatment unsuitable for one’s prevailing health condition. Moreover, prepaid services also involve potential risks such as the inability to redeem services due to the closing down of the business. Therefore, in addition to consulting healthcare professionals, members of public should thoroughly understand the terms of service, service coverage, refund policies, and other consumer protection arrangements before purchasing any prepaid medical services.

The Department of Health (“DH”) regulates premises where registered medical practitioners and/or registered dentists practise under the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance (Cap. 633) (the Ordinance) to protect patient safety. The Ordinance regulates premises where medical services are provided to ensure that they meet safety standards, but not their commercial practices (such as commercial marketing or prepayment).

Under the Ordinance, operators must obtain a licence or letter of exemption before they can operate the relevant private healthcare facility (PHF) premises, and licensees of the PHFs must comply with the Ordinance, conditions of the licence and relevant codes of practice issued by the Director of Health.

The Government is implementing the Ordinance in phases according to the risk levels of different types of PHFs. Provisions pertaining to hospitals and day procedure centres (“DPCs”) have already come into full force. The DH will start accepting clinic licence application and request for letter of exemption on 13 October 2025 to further regulate PHFs.