Vaccination Services and Health Check Plans

Vaccination is an effective way to prevent certain infectious diseases and protect personal health. In addition, if the majority of the population are vaccinated, the community will be better protected against diseases, greatly reducing the chance of widespread infectious diseases in the community and better protect our health. Through years of research, development, and advancement in the medical field, the current vaccines are highly effective while minimising side effects.

According to the World Health Organization, vaccination can prevent about 2 million to 3 million vaccine-preventable diseases every year, such as diphtheria, tetanus, polio and measles-related deaths.

Our vaccination services include:

• Fosun/ BioNTech 'Comirnaty' Bivalent Vaccine (Self Financed)
• Seasonal Flu Vaccine (Fluarix Tetra 2022-2023)
• Hepatitis A vaccine (Havrix 1440)
• Hepatitis A and B Combined Vaccine (Twinrix)
• Hepatitis B Vaccine (Energix)
• Herpes Zoster (Shingles) Vaccine (Zostavax)
• Pneumococcal vaccine (PCV13, 23vPPV)
• Full range of vaccines in the childhood immunisation programme

Common Side Effects of Vaccines

Common side effects of vaccines include mild localised skin irritation and tingling. Side effects which affect the whole body include symptoms such as fever, most of which occur within 72 hours after vaccination. Taking the flu vaccine as an example, the inactivated flu vaccine is very safe. Generally speaking, there are no other side effects except for pain, redness and swelling at the vaccination site. Some people may have a fever, muscle aches, and feel fatigued within 6 to 12 hours after the vaccination, and these vaccine side effects will usually fade within two days.

After vaccination, if side effects such as fever and discomfort persist, you should consult a doctor. If you are experiencing rare and severe allergic reaction such as urticaria, swelling of the tongue or difficulty breathing, you must seek medical advice immediately. In the case of influenza vaccines, there are 9 cases of severe allergic reactions in about 10 million doses of vaccine. However, vaccination against influenza is not necessarily related to these adverse conditions.

Before vaccination, it is recommended to check with your doctor about the side effects and your personal health condition. For those who have been vaccinated with the same vaccine and have experienced severe reactions, they should avoid re-vaccination. For those who are having a fever or diagnosed with infectious diseases, they should not be vaccinated. For detailed information on the side effects of vaccines, please refer to the various vaccination services on our website.

Other Vaccination FAQs

1. For those who were born in Hong Kong and have already received the required vaccines, is it true that they don’t need an additional booster?

No.

In Hong Kong, most people born after the 1950s benefited in varying degrees from the Hong Kong Department of Health's "Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme". The program has been implemented since the 1950s and is currently planned to be extended to vaccination and boosters for newborn babies to Primary Six students to prevent tuberculosis, polio, hepatitis B, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal infections, chickenpox, measles, mumps, German measles, and cervical cancer.

However, the Government still recommends that people with a high risk of diseases and a weak immune system, including the elderly and children, to be vaccinated in order to prevent related diseases. For private clinics and hospitals, doctors will recommend children to be vaccinated against influenza, hepatitis A, haemophilus influenza type B, meningococcal vaccine or Japanese encephalitis vaccine on a case-by-case basis.

In addition, middle-aged people who are into their 40s or 50s may also need to be vaccinated with certain types of vaccines, such as herpes zoster (Shingles), as their immune system declines over time. Some adults may have their immunity from vaccination in their early years and need to be supplemented with vaccination boosters. Such cases are more common in hepatitis B vaccine.

2. Is vaccination safe? What are “live-attenuated vaccines” and “inactivated vaccines”?

In addition to the side effects listed in the vaccine, both the live-attenuated vaccine and the inactivated vaccine are subjected to safety tests during production to ensure their safety and stability.

The principle of vaccination is to make your immune system produce antibodies. After one or two weeks, it will allow your immune system to trigger its memory function. Vaccines can be divided into inactivated vaccines and live-attenuated vaccines, and both of them are tested for efficacy, sterility, and purity via medical research and empirical evidence.

In general, the live-attenuated vaccine contains a virus or a bacteria that has been weakened and not pathogenic to stimulate the body to produce protection. Its advantage is that it usually can produce life-long immunity after vaccination, but the use of the live-attenuated vaccine has more contradictions. It is not suitable for cancer patients, patients with immune system diseases and pregnant women. For inactivated vaccines, it contains no live virus or bacteria. The virus will be killed and purified in production.  On the other hand, it has fewer contradictions but usually requires repeated vaccination.

3. What kind of vaccine does HKMC provide?

HKMC Vaccination Services include seasonal influenza vaccine (Fluarix Tetra), hepatitis A vaccine (Havrix), hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccine (Twinrix), herpes zoster (Shingles) vaccine (Zostavax), pneumococcal vaccine (PCV13) , 23vPPV), Fosun/ BioNTech 'Comirnaty' Bivalent Vaccine (Self Financed).

Taking the influenza vaccine as an example, we use a quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine, which can increase immunity against two types of influenza A and two types of influenza B virus. The inactivated virus contained in the vaccine is not infectious. In addition, children with asthma and patients with low immunity can also be injected.