
Letters | Hong Kong coronavirus: why not give out cash for actually doing something?
- The Hong Kong government has showered the public with cash handouts for doing absolutely nothing
- Amid the widening spread of the Delta variant, why not give people handouts for taking two vaccine doses?
According to media reports, and as confirmed by Hong Kong government press releases, vaccine hesitancy is high and only 21 per cent of the Hong Kong population has been fully vaccinated.
But – that’s also a blow to local commerce. I am saddened that the vaccine take-up rate is still so low – it’s so easy to do! Our vaccination process took only 30 minutes in total.
But as the new variant circulates among unvaccinated people, it creates the potential for even more transmissible variants that could also mean worse outcomes for personal and community health.
Higher rates of inoculation will slow down the speed at which subsequent mutations can develop in the community.
Today’s vaccines may not be as effective against subsequent variants. So the potential public medical costs attributable to unvaccinated Hongkongers could be very high for the city government.
Now it’s time for a new handout – for doing something.
It would be so easy to use the same basic programme to give each Hong Kong resident HK$5,000 in their local bank account, upon proof of their having received a second vaccine dose.
Again – the reason is to achieve a better chance of herd immunity within Hong Kong, and slow down the spread of this and future variants, until updated vaccines are available and/or existing vaccines are proven to be effective against any future variants.
Pay a small amount now – or a much higher price later.
Ralph Bishop, Pok Fu Lam
