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Coronavirus vaccine
Hong KongHealth & Environment

Hong Kong fourth wave: survey finds under 40 per cent willing to take coronavirus jab – far fewer than needed to protect population

  • Just 37.2 per cent of residents polled – about half that required – said they would take vaccine, citing fears of side effects, logistical difficulties
  • And while new information has become available since, researchers say there is no guarantee percentage will increase if survey is redone

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A survey conducted by Chinese University researchers showed less than 40 per cent of Hongkongers were prepared to take vaccine shots. Photo: Shutterstock
Elizabeth Cheung
Less than 40 per cent of Hongkongers are willing to take a Covid-19 vaccine shot, a university survey has found, worrying researchers who say it is far below the necessary rate to achieve significant protection for the city’s population.

Residents interviewed this past summer by Chinese University’s medical school cited the potential for unknown side effects and logistical problems with the jabs in returning an overall acceptance figure of just 37.2 per cent.

“It’s a very low figure, and we are a bit worried about it, as it is just around half of the recommended vaccination rate of 70 per cent,” Professor Paul Chan Kay-sheung, chairman of the university’s department of microbiology, said at a Tuesday press conference.

He noted the percentage was significantly lower than the acceptance rates of 60 to 90 per cent found in countries such as Australia, Germany, Britain and the United States in a separate study that was published last month but has yet to be peer-reviewed.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday revealed that experts from the government’s vaccination advisory panel would meet this week to begin reviewing data from the three types of Covid-19 vaccines procured by the government.

The vaccination programme is expected to be rolled out around the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February.

The Chinese University survey, conducted between July 27 and August 27, when the city was in the grip of a third Covid-19 wave, involved interviews with 1,200 adults. It was also conducted at a time when there was less information about Covid-19 vaccines, and before the Hong Kong government had announced its procurement plan.

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