Moving to Hong Kong, having lived abroad, or a child who missed school jabs for some reason — these situations are common, and all have clear paths to fixing them. The crucial first step is to gather your child's vaccination records.
Case 1: missed doses under the school immunisation programme
Hong Kong's school-age vaccinations are mostly delivered through schools. If your child missed a school session, or is a newly arrived student, the DH's School Immunisation Teams provide catch-up for primary pupils; secondary students can arrange missed doses through Student Health Service Centres. Contact the school or the DH to ask about arrangements.
Case 2: vaccinated overseas
- Gather the record: find your child's overseas vaccination record. If it isn't in English, prepare a translation to make checking easier.
- Have a professional assess it: bring the record to an MCHC or doctor, who will compare it against the Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme to see which vaccines are done and which are still needed.
- Doses already given count: valid doses given abroad are generally recognised and don't need repeating — only the missing ones are topped up.
- Newly arrived children: the Centre for Health Protection has dedicated catch-up information for children new to Hong Kong.
Why not to guess
Schedules and vaccine types vary slightly between countries, and names alone make it hard to tell whether your child is adequately protected. Having a professional check the record avoids both unnecessary repeat jabs and missed key doses. Bring the full record and let the staff continue from where your child left off — that's the safest approach.