Editorial | Vaccination easier said than done, as Carrie Lam has now discovered
- The battle ahead is still fraught with challenges as Hong Kong tries to secure an effective, reliable source to inoculate city’s 7.5 million people
Every minute counts when it comes to combating Covid-19. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is well aware of that, having led a long-drawn-out battle that still shows no sign of reaching an end.
While there are examples of indecision and delay on the part of her team, the government is also facing issues beyond its control. The supply of vaccines is a case in point. Since last month, the world’s biggest vaccination programme has already seen tens of millions of people in various countries having their first jabs.
Hong Kong, regrettably, is facing further delay.
Lam on Tuesday revealed that she had sought Beijing’s help in securing a mainland brand in the wake of what she called “hiccups” in the procurement of three vaccines purchased by the city. This came after Sinovac, due to arrive this month, had yet to make its final test results available.
Meanwhile, the authorities formally gave the green light to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Monday. The supply, though, has been put back to late February.
With the AstraZeneca vaccine due in the second half of the year, a concrete timetable for inoculating the city’s 7.5 million people has yet to be announced.