‘Sars hero’ says Hong Kong medical experts must do more to persuade public that coronavirus vaccines are safe
- Policy U-turns on Covid-19 measures confusing, could have been handled better, according to Joseph Sung
- Eminent academic from Chinese University moving to Singapore to head medical school
With mass inoculation programmes being rolled out in many parts of the world, and different vaccines in use, the first batch of a million Pfizer-BioNTech doses is expected to arrive in the city this month.
“There is a lot of anxiety about side effects, and disparity in the vaccines’ efficacy, because we are really in a rush right now,” he said.
Stressing the need for experts to keep explaining scientific facts in layman’s terms, he said this might be hard to do but it must be maintained to boost public confidence in vaccines.
Sung, 61, led CUHK between 2010 and 2017, and is its Mok Hing Yiu Professor of Medicine. He said he expected to be in Singapore until he turned 70, and intended to return after that as his family would remain in Hong Kong.
“This time round, the virus is more contagious, partly because it doesn’t kill that many people, and it doesn’t cause serious symptoms in many of the people who are infected, particularly the young and healthy ones,” he said.
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‘It can be better’
One year on, Hong Kong has recorded more than 10,600 Covid-19 infections and 186 deaths, while the world has seen 105 million cases with over 2.3 million fatalities.
Commenting on the Hong Kong government’s efforts to contain the virus, Sung said it was “not doing too bad, but it can be better”.
Some policies could have been more consistent and rational to avoid confusion, he said.
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At the same time, the government extended bans on gatherings of more than two people, restaurants have to close at 6pm and in-person classes remain suspended for most students.
Noting that some policies changed overnight, he said: “It will make people a bit confused.”
The move was criticised after the first lockdown in Yau Tsim Mong last month uncovered only 13 new infections, with more than 7,000 residents screened. Recent lockdowns of several buildings in other areas found no infections.
Critics had also questioned whether the lockdowns targeted more disadvantaged groups, such as low-income families and ethnic minority communities, whereas no harsh measures were taken after a cluster of dance enthusiasts triggered the fourth wave of infections last November.
Sung said: “I wouldn’t say that because of the 0.17 per cent [positive rate in Yau Tsim Mong], it would be unnecessary to lock down the place and make sure everybody who is infected is being identified and properly treated.”
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Hong Kong coronavirus lockdown: 10,000 people confined as police cordon off part of Yau Tsim Mong
‘Do something meaningful’
The Singapore offer was not the first for the eminent academic and medical specialist. Sung said he turned down senior positions in Britain and Australia over the past few years because he wanted a more frontline role.
On what he hoped to do as dean of the NTU medical school, he said he expected to be more involved in work related to medical technology, such as genomic data analysis and developing precision medicine, as well as working with infectious disease experts in research on emerging diseases.
“I’d like to do something meaningful for the world. I really want to spend the rest of my career not doing a top administrative job, but something on the ground [that] may change the practice of medicine,” he said.
He said he was concerned about a possible brain drain from Hong Kong’s health care system. Associations representing doctors and nurses said last month that a number of medical staff were considering leaving, many for political reasons.
“I have the impression that there are people in our profession, more than a few, particularly aged 30 to 40 and with young kids, who may consider leaving for other countries,” he said.
He was most worried about nurses leaving, as they are in high demand around the world. Doctors might find it harder to move as many countries have strict rules about allowing overseas professionals to practise.
One way to keep health care staff in the city might be to narrow the salary gap between the public and private health care systems, he said.
Sung is set to take up his new appointment in Singapore on April 1. He will be going alone and hopes to return regularly once the pandemic eases, as his wife and daughters will remain in Hong Kong.
He said he would miss his family and Hong Kong’s scenery most.
“I expect that by the time I finish, I’ll come back to enjoy my real retirement,” he said.