Hong Kong doctors urge more Covid vaccine sites as booster rate languishes at 1.27 per cent
Hong Kong's Covid booster uptake is only 1.27 per cent. The Western Medicine Doctors' Association urges more vaccination points and a flu-style subsidy scheme. Professor孔繁毅 predicts the next wave in 9-12 months, citing over 170 severe or fatal cases in the recent peak.
Hong Kong's Western Medicine Doctors' Association has warned that the uptake of Covid-19 vaccine boosters remains extremely low, with only 1.27 per cent of the population having received a booster dose. The group has called on the government to make Covid vaccinations routine, mirroring the influenza vaccination subsidy scheme, and to increase the number of vaccination points to boost coverage and strengthen community immunity.
In a recent online survey of 300 private doctors, nearly 40 per cent said they would not proactively remind patients to get a Covid jab, mainly because their clinics do not stock the vaccine. Association president Dr Lo Wai-leung noted that in other jurisdictions, vaccination rates among those aged 65 and over stand at 20 per cent in Taiwan, 40 per cent in South Korea and 65 per cent in the United Kingdom.
Dr Lo said Hong Kong currently has only 76 Covid vaccination points. He suggested that the government allow the same sites to offer both flu and Covid jabs simultaneously, so that patients could receive both shots in one visit, thereby improving uptake and protection.
Professor Kwan Man-yee, a member of the Covid Public Health Concern Group and chair professor in the Department of Clinical Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, said the latest Covid peak has just passed, with at least 170 severe or fatal cases recorded. He predicted the next wave would emerge in nine to 12 months. He stressed that the public should not underestimate Covid, noting that boosters significantly reduce the risk of severe illness or death among high-risk groups such as the elderly and those with chronic conditions.