HONG KONG -- A total of 26,925 people had taken the booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines in Hong Kong as of 7:00 pm local time Friday, according to the latest official data.

Beginning from Thursday, a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccines has been made available to eligible groups in Hong Kong. People with weak immunity and high risks of infection with the virus can receive their third dose.

Secretary for Food and Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government Sophia Chan said on Saturday that vaccination or promoting vaccination is one of the key measures in epidemic control.

"Not only can vaccine keep people safe, it can also protect people from infecting as well as protecting people from having less severe symptoms and also protect people from dying when they contract the virus," Chan said.

Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) on Saturday reported two new imported cases of COVID-19, taking the total tally to 12,380.

One of the cases involved a mutant strain while the mutation test result of the remaining case is pending. A total of 36 cases have been reported in the past 14 days and all of them are imported, according to the CHP.

Hong Kong's vaccination drive is making steady progress. Since the launch of the government inoculation program in late February, more than 4.66 million people, or 69.3 percent of the eligible population, have taken at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccines, while around 4.46 million people, or 66.3 percent, are fully vaccinated.