By Daisy CL Mandap
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| An isolation ward for Covid-19 patients at Eastern Hospital |
Health officials have announced that people who have been infected with Covid-19 could get a vaccine without an appointment following the recommended interval after recovery.
According to a government advisory issued Friday, the recovered patients will soon be sent SMS messages informing them how they could avail of the vaccine at any time to get further protection.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Recovered patients are encouraged to take the vaccine dose which will entitle them to a certificate showing they are fully vaccinated. Others who did not get infected previously must have two jabs to get the same certificate.
Two Filipina domestic helpers who are recovered Covid-19 patients gave varied takes on the government advice.
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| Pindutin para sa detalye |
Liza, who caught the virus while staying in a boarding house in March after finishing her contract with her first employer, was hesitant at first. However, her new employer advised her to go for it.
When she did, however, she was disappointed when the nurse who administered the vaccine told her that she need not go for a second dose.
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Her spirits only lifted when told that she could already get a certificate showing she’s already fully vaccinated and protected from Covid-19, which had given her so much problems previously.
Another Covid survivor, Lyn, is not convinced that she should have the jab, perhaps because she is still traumatized by having tested positive on her arrival in Hong Kong, and being told shortly afterwards that her employer would terminate their contract as soon as she recovered.
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“Nahihilo kasi ako lagi pag tulong sa tulog,” she said. (I often get dizzy when I don’t get enough sleep).
But on being told that she could get medical advice first if she’s unsure, Lyn, who has since found a new employer, said: “Pag-iisipan ko na lang po”. (I’ll think about it first).
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| Recovered patients need to wait 90-180 days after discharge to get the jab |
More than 100 Filipinos in Hong Kong have been found positive for Covid-19. Most of them had just arrived from the Philippines and were asymptomatic, but a big number were musicians and food servers who got infected when the virus swept through bars in early 2020.
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According to the government announcement issued Friday, all recovered patients can receive a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine at any Community Vaccination Centre (CVC) or private clinic enrolled in the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.
The Hospital Authority will also provide them with a customised factsheet on how and when they can get the vaccine.
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| Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love |
According to the Expert Committee that advises the government on its vaccination program, recovered patients can get the first dose from BioNTech 90 days after discharge from hospital. If they wish to get Sinovac they must wait 180 days after recovery and discharge.
After receiving the factsheet they can go directly to a vaccination centre after the recommended interval. No prior online booking is required.
According to the statement, recovered persons who get one dose of the vaccine and waited for 14 days after can take advantage of the relaxed social distancing measures under the “vaccine bubble” extended to all fully inoculated residents.
Meanwhile, recovered persons who were given a booking for a second dose need not go as the government will cancel this appointment for them. They can then go to their vaccine provider to ask for the updated paper record of vaccination.
The list of CVCs and designated private clinics are available here: www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/List_of_CVC_Venues.pdf and
www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/en/VSS respectively.
