Health Authorities urge vaccination of three age groups
The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center have issued a statement calling on people unvaccinated against Covid-19 to become inoculated as soon as possible.
The center appeals particularly to those in three different age groups to get vaccinated with urgency, claiming that the number of cases of death and severe disease has been rising in the neighboring regions, affecting children and the elderly.
In this sense, the center aims to raise the vaccination rate among three different age groups including, children from 3 to 11 years old; senior citizens with ages ranging between 70- and 79-years-old; and those aged 80-years-old and above.
Authorities said in the same statement that currently, the vaccination rates for these three groups is low. The vaccination rate for those aged between 70 and 79 years old is 45.7%, while it is a low of 6.7% for the young children group. The vaccination among the most elderly is also considered very low, at 17.9%.
According to the same health authorities, the low rates of vaccination amongst these three groups are pulling down the general vaccination rate of Macau, which now stands at 75.4%.
The authorities justify their call with the fact that the elderly and those with chronic diseases are at greater risk of contracting a serious illness, the reason for which they are considered a priority group for vaccination.
As for the children, the center stated that “the risk of serious illness in children cannot be ignored either.”
At midnight today the deadline given by the government for the vaccination of all civil servants that are eligible to be inoculated with a Covid-19 vaccine was reached. Those that fail to comply will not be able to work, namely in job roles in which contact with the public is necessary.
According to the figures cited by the health authorities last Thursday, 83.6% of all civil servants have already received two or three doses of the vaccine and 85.6% have already received at least one dose of the vaccine.
