switching from private to public for vaccines??

[chuckles]

Hi could anyone provide me with some information re changing from the private system to public one for vaccinations.. my daughter has had her first vaccines done with our own doctor but was not covered by my husbands insurance. Just wondering if its possible to switch now and how do i go about it.... thanking you in advance

 

[Newbie_hk]

I did an even bigger step & changed from my home country's vaccination system (Australia) to HKG public system. Check online for your local MCHC (maternal & child health centre). I actually had to go there personally to show & explain my daughter's health record. They asked me to bring my HKID, passport & utility bill. They booked my daughter for her next vaccination. Hope it works the same with switching from private to public.

 

[shakeshack]

Just a note on going public - we did our baby's first vaccination (HEP B) in a gov't facility. It was in Sai Yung Pun w/c is the closest if you live in midlevels area. Yes it is free but we felt like we were going to be ill just waiting in there for 2 hrs between the paperwork, the health check and the interview by the health care nurse. We are not covered by insurance for vaccinations but decided to go private because of the number of children in that facility and the general feeling of catching something while waiting. Also, the gov't health centers don't give you the Lot number of the vaccine they use so you dont know where it's from and if there's a problem or if your child gets ill there isn't much to look back on. The private hospitals offer packages w/c I hear are cheaper than a private doctor administering the vaccine. it's a pretty steep cost fr our doctor but we felt it is worth it.

 

[helihwman]

I dont think it worths going to government clinic for vaccination in terms of the queuig time and coverage. Government only offered fundamental vaccins, you still have to get the rest of shots eg. chicken pox, flu etc from private clinic if you want to have a thorough coverage for your baby. a very important point is that there is no lot no. of the vaccines which means it's not traceable if any problem arises! some said quality of vaccins from govt is not as good as private's.

 

[mllau]

We go to Tai Chi Ngong MCH (between Wan Chai and Happy Valley) and it's clean and the wait isn't bad. Nurses are nice too and very sweet with babies. Just come and register. Bring your travel docs, hkid, baby's health record, birth certificate, etc to register and they will make your next appointment. This is for her mandatory vaccines here in HK. The rest like Hib, influenza, varicella, rotavirus are available at private clinics (you have to pay to the consultation and vaccine costs and we feel like it's good to have the private doctor's opinion too on baby's development since the public health doctors are sometimes not so thorough, however, the nurses at Tai Chi Ngong ask about baby's milestones). Though true the nurses at public healthcare don't put the lot number of the vaccines on baby's record just the date and doses. Sometimes you need those in case there's a bad batch.

 

[charade]

Whether it is worth it or not depends on your budget and your schedule. My husband's insurance covers vaccines so we go private to save time since both of us work. But had that not been the case, I would've been fine with public. In fact, for my second baby, I'm considering going public with the vaccines and supplementing with the ones they don't cover privately if need be because I'm impressed with their developmental checks (my private doctor does none, we even have to request him to weigh the baby so this kind of service is not a given with private care), their breastfeeding support and the pediatrician in my MCH. What deters me is the wait since I'd have to take half a day off.

Regarding the batch number, I'm assuming that the public clinic would have a record of the batch number somewhere which could be sought in case of a scare.