Get vaccinated to bring Hong Kong back to a healthy normal, never mind the politics

It is unfortunate that the choice of whether to get vaccinated has become politicised as science should guide our choices
When push comes to shove, being vaccinated against a killer disease is better than not being vaccinated as long as its efficacy meets WHO standards

Michael Chugani

Published: 8:30am, 15 Apr 2021

Why you can trust SCMP

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? To leave or not to leave? These are the two questions uppermost in the minds of Hongkongers now that vague red lines have made many fearful of freely discussing sensitive political issues.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor insists normality has returned after the social unrest of 2019. But many of us know normality is fake when imposed through a national security law and election overhaul that curtails space for the opposition.

What we now have is more like an uneasy calm before a storm. None of the grievances that sparked the 2019 unrest have been addressed.

It was amusing to hear Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung say on Sunday’s RTHK Letter to Hong Kong that free speech and media remain intact under Hong Kong’s changed political landscape. Let me remind him that prior to his Letter to Hong Kong, which touted the government’s achievements, RTHK pulled a pre-recorded one by opposition politician Michael Mo Kwan-tai and replaced it with one by a pro-establishment figure, scrapping a planned recording by Hong Kong Journalists Association chairman Chris Yeung Kin-hing along the way.

If Cheung insists free speech still exists, he should order RTHK director Patrick Li Pak-chuen to tolerate all views. Instead, Li has already axed about 10 Chinese and English shows critical of the government since taking over last month.

03:03

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To leave or stay as Beijing imposes democracy with “Hong Kong characteristics” is a personal choice with which many families are struggling. I won’t get into that.

My focus today is not about Hong Kong becoming unrecognisable but to vaccinate or not, which admittedly also has a political undertone. China’s Sinovac or the American-German Pfizer-BioNTech?

That in itself has been politicised. Loyalists prefer Sinovac to prove their patriotism. Most foreigners I know have chosen BioNTech in the belief a Western vaccine is more trustworthy.

But that is not how choices should be made. Science should guide our choices. Western vaccines have used new technology. Sinovac has preferred the tried and tested old way.

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Some people believe the mRNA technology Western vaccines are using is so new it could cause health issues years from now. Others believe Sinovac is untrustworthy because full details of Stage 3 clinical trials have yet to be published.

Another consideration is the efficacy rate. Almost all of Hong Kong’s health experts have chosen BioNTech because its efficacy rate is about 95 per cent compared to Sinovac’s 50.4 per cent, according to Brazilian trials involving health care workers.

I chose BioNTech for its efficacy and recognition by the United States, my home country. The World Health Organization (WHO) has yet to fully recognise Sinovac. My choice was practical rather than political.

But when push comes to shove, does it matter which vaccine you choose? Being vaccinated against a killer disease is better than not being vaccinated as long as the efficacy rate meets WHO standards.

04:21

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Vaccine hesitancy in Hong Kong is not only about safety concerns. It is also about deep distrust and dissatisfaction in the way the government has handled the epidemic.

Hongkongers scrambled to get flu shots last year at the height of the pandemic until private clinics ran out. They now hesitate to get Covid-19 shots even though supplies are plentiful. We must ask why.

An efficacy rate of 95 or 50.4 per cent will still achieve herd immunity if enough people get vaccinated. The government needs to provide incentives, but the nonsensical ones Lam announced on Monday to create separate “bubbles” for the fully vaccinated, half-vaccinated and non-vaccinated made my jaw drop.

How is it possible to create “safe zones” for vaccinated diners and staff when most Hong Kong restaurants are small with limited toilets? Will diners outside the “safe zones” be barred from using toilets?

What if even one staff member refuses to get vaccinated or cannot for health reasons? Will such restaurants be refused extended hours? Nothing this government does seems to be well thought-out.

Never mind. Get vaccinated. Bring Hong Kong back to a healthy normal, not Lam’s fake political normal.

Michael Chugani is a Hong Kong journalist and TV show host