Hongkongers deemed at high risk of developing severe Covid-19 symptoms will be allowed to receive an additional booster shot from April 20 for free, but others will need to pay for their fourth or fifth vaccination.

The government announced the arrangement on Friday, two days after the joint scientific committee under the Centre for Health Protection revised their recommendations for the city’s Covid-19 vaccination strategies based on the latest local epidemic situation and global practice.

This means the high-risk group, no matter how many doses they have taken before, could receive an extra booster for free this year, at least six months after their previous shot of vaccination or infection.

People queue up for Covid-19 vaccines at Java Road Playground.

The group covers people aged 50 or older, including care home residents, adults aged 18 to 49 with underlying comorbidities, those aged at least six months with immunocompromised conditions, pregnant women and healthcare workers.

Children aged at least six months who do not belong to the priority group could still receive the first three doses of Covid-19 vaccine for free if they have not been infected with the coronavirus before.

“The government calls on all members of the public … who have not received the first three doses of vaccine to get vaccinated as early as possible for self-protection even if they do not belong to any priority groups,” the government said.

Those who are eligible for the additional booster could make their booking from April 20, while those who have not received their third dose could also make a booking at any time.

Children aged 5 to 11 who took the BioNTech vaccine, previously recommended to take two doses only, could also take their third shot at least five months after their previous dose.

People who are not in the high-risk group but would like to take more shots after taking the first three doses would need to get them from the private sector at their own cost. But those who made their booking before April 20 would not be affected.

Meanwhile, the vaccination outreach service for elderly people and the physically disabled would stop taking in new registrations from April 15, the government said, citing a significant drop in demand.

The city’s Covid-19 vaccination programme, which has been driven by the Civil Service Bureau since it started in February 2021, would be coordinated by the Health Bureau and the Department of Health from April.

Eight Covid-related emergency regulations drafted during the pandemic, covering areas such as border control measures, mandatory testing and social distancing measures, would expire at midnight on Friday.

But two measures related to the use of vaccines and the vaccine pass would be maintained to facilitate vaccination-centred epidemic control measures.