Talking point September 2021∣Youth Hong Kong
Covid immunity
where does Hong Kong stand? by Peter Cheung
Despite Hong Kong’s triumph in containing COVID-19 local infection rates at a relatively low level in comparison with other regions of the world, the city has been struggling to drive up vaccine uptake among its citizens. The vaccination programme was rolled out in February 2021 but it took eight months to reach a 55% inoculation rate for the second dose of vaccine. That is still 15% short of the 70% threshold for herd immunity as suggested by government public health advisors. 1 2 As a global business hub, the Hong Kong’s current strategy of “zero-infection”, and the associated quarantine and social-distancing measures, are apparently unsustainable in the long term. If we are to meet the instated goal of a 70% vaccination rate by the end of 2021 and open ourselves to international business again3, we must focus
on two questions. What are the major reasons behind the vaccine hesitancy of Hongkongers? More importantly, how can the vaccination drive be steered on course?
Vaccination hesitancy in Hong Kong Whether to get vaccinated or not is a decision influenced by our judgement and the information we are exposed to, as in making any important decision. Information about the pandemic in this case includes the misinformation and conspiracy theories that have been identified by researchers as a major contributor to vaccine hesitancy worldwide.4 While members of the general public are not expected to understand all the medical technicalities, during the early stage of the vaccination roll-out, the relentless local media coverage of deaths and cases
Figure 1. Vaccinated Hong Kong population [as of early-mid September]
63.8%
1st dose
2nd dose
55.1%
Source and updates covidvaccine.gov.hk/en/dashboard
Sources 1. HK Vaccination Dashboard: covidvaccine.gov.hk/en/dashboard 2. Vaccination rate in HK and herd immunity threshold: .scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3145933/coronavirus-hong-kongs-zero-infection-policy?module=perpetual_scroll&pgtype=article&ca mpaign=3145933 3. Vaccination goal to reach by end of 2021: thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/155363/Vaccine-to-cover-70-percent-of-population-by-end-of-2021--David-Hui 4. Rumours and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines: journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0251605
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