Hong Kong authorities have defended the city’s childhood vaccination programme after the United States scaled back its immunisation recommendations , stressing that public health policies should not be “arbitrarily altered”. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said on Tuesday that all public health policies and medical recommendations had to be based on scientific evidence. Under the Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme (HKCIP), children from birth to Primary Six are required to receive vaccines and boosters against 11 diseases – tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal infection, chickenpox, measles, mumps and rubella. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations are also available for eligible primary school girls to prevent cervical cancer under the programme. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, recommending vaccination against respiratory syncytial virus monoclonal antibodies, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal B, meningococcal ACWY, and dengue only for “certain high-risk groups or populations”.