Editorial | Return to normality rests on Hong Kong getting simple jabs message
- Those reluctant to be vaccinated against Covid-19 should remember inoculations bring about immunity without causing illness, prevent the spread of the disease and open the door to a brighter future
Why would a Hong Kong resident not want to get vaccinated against the coronavirus? There is a choice of two vaccines, one Chinese and the other German, and jabs are free.
The more people who get shots the greater the possibility of life returning to normal. Normality means doing all that was possible before the Covid-19 pandemic struck 15 months ago, forcing the imposition of social-distancing rules that have markedly changed our city and the world.
Vaccines bring about immunity without causing illness and prevent the spread of disease. With the government’s vaccination programme being opened to all people above the age of 16 from Friday, there is no good reason for not making an online booking.
Yet barely 10 per cent of the population has received a first jab and fewer still the recommended two-shot regimen since the end of February, a low figure given that at least 70 per cent is necessary for herd immunity to be attained. At that point, the spread of the coronavirus from person to person will be unlikely.
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It is a goal that is easily attainable given that Hong Kong is fortunate in having sufficient vaccines at a time when there are shortages in many other parts of the world. Reluctance by too many people stands in the way, though.