Hong Kong fourth wave: first Covid-19 vaccines may not prevent infection but can halt complications, health chief says, as city logs 69 new cases
- First shots may not offer protection from contracting virus but could prevent health complications arising from disease, health chief says
- Professor Sophia Chan also suggests officials can boost public confidence by being among first to take shots
In a bid to reassure the public over the safety of the inoculations, Secretary for Food and Health Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee also suggested officials could set an example by being the first to take the shots when they became available next month.
The latest infections mark the fewest in a single day since November 22, when 68 cases were recorded. Nineteen of the new cases were untraceable, while five were imported, and more than 80 people tested preliminary-positive. The city’s overall Covid-19 tally stands at 7,446, with 115 related deaths.
However, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said it was too early to say whether the fourth wave of the pandemic was showing signs of easing.
“We have more than 80 cases today that tested preliminary-positive, so tomorrow the number of confirmed cases may be more than today,” Chuang said. “The falling figure today may be due to slower delivery of test samples.”