Ultimately, vaccine refuseniks are to blame for Omicron’s deadly chaos in Hong Kong

The government could have done a lot better but at the root of the matter lies the failure of too many people to get vaccinated, putting themselves and others around them at risk

Peter Kammerer

Published: 6:45am, 8 Mar 2022

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Omicron was bound to rampage through Hong Kong, just as it has everywhere else. What I didn’t expect was the government’s incompetent response. Sticking firmly to its belief that it can vanquish the coronavirus in all its forms from the city’s boundaries, it ignored the ample evidence from overseas of what could be expected.

But while it is tempting to blame officials for the resultant chaos, those really at fault are the people who refused to get vaccinated.

The death toll from the fifth wave of the city’s Covid-19 epidemic is appalling. Most of those who succumbed have been in their 50s and older, although the numbers in their teens and younger is equally devastating. The vast majority have not been jabbed.

There is ample evidence that vaccination prevents serious illness. Some whose condition is precarious shouldn’t get a shot; that is a doctor’s call. But, for the sake of self-protection and to control the spread of the disease, as many as possible have to be inoculated.

The government was quick to procure enough vaccines and has for 13 months made them available for free. It went further than many other jurisdictions, offering old technology and new, Chinese and Western, through Sinovac and BioNTech. While the latter has a better efficacy, their differing side effects ensure that all ages and health situations can be catered for.

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Vaccination has not been made mandatory and it is up to individuals whether they get a jab, a good compromise in a city where surveys have long shown trust in the government is low.

But while getting a jab has been a matter of choice, those who have refused have been putting themselves and others around them at risk. That has been obvious in care homes for the elderly and disabled, where the virus has rampaged. The initial low death figures may have given people a false sense of security that they would not be affected, while a lack of faith in vaccines or the government may also have been factors.

A crowded and cramped city like Hong Kong is an ideal environment for a virus like Covid-19 to run amok. For that reason, health officials should have known Beijing’s mandated “dynamic zero” strategy was not appropriate for dealing with the variant, readied a backup plan and given clear messages to residents of what to do. Instead, they persisted in treating every case as an emergency, no matter how minor the symptoms.

Public hospitals and quarantine centres were quickly at capacity and, as the death toll mounted, morgues became unable to cope. In the midst of the turmoil, authorities confirmed plans for mass testing and the arrival of mainland Chinese advisers and workers gave the impression that days-long mainland-style lockdowns were at hand.

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Senior officials failed to give the clear and concise messages such worrying times necessitate. Hong Kong’s famed Lion Rock spirit inevitably kicked in, with people opting to take matters into their own hands and care for themselves.

The rush for rapid antigen testing kits and self-isolation has hidden the true scale of the epidemic. Streets are nearly empty and shops stripped of items considered essential. All of that could have been avoided if authorities had been better prepared.

The government’s Covid-19 policies are flawed; the present outbreak and dire impact on the business community are proof. Politics would seem to be too often put before science. Mass testing during an Omicron surge makes no sense and the amount of time, effort and expense could be put to better use.

But at the root of the matter lies the failure of too many people to get vaccinated. Getting a jab now cannot offer immediate protection. The clock can’t be turned back for those who have died or are suffering, and for people regretting the flawed advice they gave deceased relatives.

Hongkongers, unlike their mainland counterparts, have open access to a world of information and are able to choose their own course. That too many have done so without regard for others in the community is a travesty.

Peter Kammerer is a senior writer at the Post