In a radio program this morning, Chan said she was glad to see Sinovac jabs arrived in Hong Kong last Friday, with vaccinations for priority groups to start this Friday.

“Getting a jab will be definitely better than going without it... and an early vaccination is definitely better than a late one,” Chan said.

“The more people get vaccinated, the greater the social benefits will be and the sooner we can achieve herd immunity,” Chan said, adding it would help restore economic activities and push the border reopening.

Although the number of Covid-19 cases around the world is still high, it seems to be declining recently, Chan said, adding many health experts believe the decline in infections was because of the vaccination.

Five vaccination centers and 18 general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority will start to provide vaccination service this week, Chan said. While citizens can also get the jab from private doctors in mid-March.

She added that the BioNTech vaccines will also arrive in Hong Kong next week, indicating that there will be sufficient vaccine supply in Hong Kong, and urged people to get the jab as soon as possible.

Chan also said Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and senior officials will get the jab early this week.