A woman holds a leaflet promoting the vaccination program as she stands in line outside a community vaccination center administering the BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Hong Kong, April 5, 2021. (CHAN LONG HEI/BLOOMBERG)

Hong Kong saw a jump in bookings for coronavirus vaccine appointments after eligibility was widened to all residents aged 16 and older, as the city works to boost inoculation rates seen as crucial to achieving herd immunity.

READ MORE: Dozens quarantined after mutant virus strain found in Jordan area

About 25,200 people reserved slots for BioNTech vaccinations at community centers in the 24 hours to 8 pm Friday, while another 6,100 booked appointments to receive shots made by the mainland’s Sinovac Biotech, the government said.

The expansion, announced earlier this month, means all Hong Kong adults will now be able to access vaccines. Hong Kong is one of the first places globally to roll out vaccinations to its full adult population

Total bookings, which include first and second doses, more than doubled from 14,700 a day earlier. The figures don’t include private clinics, which offer Sinovac jabs.

The expansion, announced earlier this month, means all Hong Kong adults will now be able to access vaccines. Hong Kong is one of the first places globally to roll out vaccinations to its full adult population.

About 10.7 percent of the Hong Kong population has received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to Bloomberg’s COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker.

ALSO READ: HK widens vaccine access to ages 16 and up, logs 6 new cases

Meanwhile, a government scientific committee said Thursday that there was no need to introduce vaccines from AstraZeneca in Hong Kong, in part because of the availability of alternate vaccines.

Hong Kong has been ramping up efforts to incentivize residents to get vaccinated. The government this month outlined “vaccine bubbles” that would relax some social curbs only for vaccinated people. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the new measures could be introduced toward the end of the month if the situation remained stable.

Bars and nightclubs will be conditionally allowed to reopen at half capacity till 2 am if all staff and customers receive at least one vaccine dose, according to Tommy Cheung, a member of the advisory Executive Council, citing government officials. Two people are capped per table and rules will be reviewed every two weeks, he said Friday.

The latest expansion of eligibility also comes as the city wrestles with a highly transmissible virus variant that triggered a 14-day ban on flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines.

Hong Kong reported three local coronavirus cases on Saturday, one of which is untraceable and involves the N501Y mutant virus strain. The variant was first detected in South Africa. The authorities on Friday quarantined about 60 residents of Kennedy Terrace, where the patient resided in Mid-Levels. 

The city's overall infection tally stood at 11,730, with 209 related deaths.

With inputs from Agencies