HONG KONG -- Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam on Friday said that the HKSAR government will gear up efforts to boost the vaccination rate, especially among the elderly and children, amid a raging COVID-19 epidemic.

Hong Kong's vaccination rate is lower than that in the mainland, Singapore, Europe, and the United States, Lam said at a press conference.

She said Hong Kong's COVID-19 vaccine supply is ample and the HKSAR boasts a developed vaccination infrastructure, stressing efforts to urge more people to participate.

According to official data, 300,000 people aged 70 or older have not received their first dose of vaccine. For children, the vaccination rate is currently 50 percent partly due to the late start of the minor's inoculation program, with approximately 260,000 children between the ages of three and 11 not having received the vaccine.

Patrick Nip, secretary for the civil service of the HKSAR government, said in view of the rapid increase in public demand for vaccination over the past two months, the number of vaccination centers has increased to 27 and that of mobile vaccination stations has risen from two to four to facilitate vaccination of the elderly and children.

The vaccination rate among children in Hong Kong is expected to hit 90 percent in a month, Nip said.

The HKSAR reported 18,888 new COVID-19 cases Friday, official data showed. An online platform for the submission of positive COVID-19 rapid test results received 10,493 more effective self-reports on Thursday.