First batch of Hongkongers get Covid-19 vaccine shots amid hopes of travel resumption and ensuring safety of loved ones
- Elderly people, their carers, as well as health officials and political heavyweights among those who line up across city for first dose of CoronaVac
- Many people said they were aware of the potential side effects, but still chose to opt for the shots because the benefits outweighed the risks
Hong Kong’s first batch of residents to be vaccinated against Covid-19 formed queues across the city on Friday morning, as they held hopes of resuming travel as well as ensuring safety for themselves and their loved ones, especially elderly family members.
Those awaiting CoronaVac jabs at the Central Library in Causeway Bay also included senior health officials and political heavyweights, such as Tung Chee-hwa, vice-chairman of China’s top political advisory body, and former secretary for justice Elsie Leung Oi-sie.
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Hong Kong begins mass vaccination programme with Covid-19 jabs developed on the Chinese mainland
Senior management of the city’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific, including CEO Augustus Tang and chairman Patrick Healy, were vaccinated in the afternoon.
They were among some 70,000 Hongkongers who have taken up all the available appointments at the city’s five vaccination centres and 18 government clinics until March 11.
Most of some 30 people the Post spoke to at the city’s three vaccination sites – the Central Library, Kowloon Bay Sports Centre and Central Kowloon Health Centre – on Friday were aged 60 or above.
Four younger people who received the jabs were carers for the elderly, while two others were health care workers and one a civil servant.