Hong Kong parents rushed children as young as 3 years old to vaccination centres this week as the government lowered the age limit for the shots and the deaths of two toddlers exacerbated concerns in a city struggling to cope with a COVID-19 surge.
The government approved children 3 and older to take China's Sinovac vaccine from Feb. 15, while those 5 and older can take the BioNTech shot.
Dozens of children were bundled up in jackets, some clutching their parents as they stood in line. All wore masks, while some also had plastic face shields. The rush to get children vaccinated comes as the city's hospitals are overflowing, with elderly and children on beds in cold and rainy parking lots. Isolation facilities are full, while thousands queue for hours outside testing venues.
Although 85% of the city's 7.4 million residents have received at least one vaccine dose, about 60% of residents older than 80 remain unvaccinated. About 12% of children ages 3-11 have received a vaccine, government data showed.
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