Opinion | Hong Kong fourth wave: government needs team effort to lift public trust in vaccines

While the Hong Kong government has procured enough Covid-19 vaccines for the entire city and, according to Health Secretary Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee, it aims to vaccinate most of the population within 2021, that goal to inoculate Hongkongers is going to be extremely challenging.

The Chinese University medical school interviewed residents last summer and found fewer than 40 per cent of Hongkongers were willing to take a Covid-19 vaccine shot. That low figure of acceptance is shocking, even after considering that the survey was conducted before more information on the vaccines’ clinical trial results was released.

Now with experts at the World Health Organization saying we are unlikely to achieve herd immunity in 2021, even with all the vaccine roll-outs, that is more reason for residents to adopt a “wait and see” approach.

Perhaps that is why some lawmakers have floated the idea of offering a cash incentive for all who volunteer to get the jab. While well-intended, this quick-fix solution will not work. People would inevitably wonder why getting a shot that is supposedly good for them and everyone else would require such a monetary incentive. Putting a price on the civic duty to protect oneself from the disease and from infecting others is risky and sends the wrong message.