Hong Kong’s Covid-19 vaccination drive: ‘get a jab, receive a reward’, bosses of some priority sectors say

The city has opened up bookings for another 1.3 million workers to take their shots, but companies are divided over whether they will encourage staff to sign up

While restaurants and schools are eager to reduce contagion risks, other sectors, such as taxi operators, are taking a more cautious approach, pointing to their many elderly employees

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Hong Kong residents line up for vaccinations near Kwun Chung Market, Jordan. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 8:00am, 10 Mar 2021Updated: 9:30am, 10 Mar 2021

Bosses of some Hong Kong companies are considering incentives for staff to take Covid-19 jabs after their industries were added to the list of priority groups for vaccination this week.

Employers are pinning their hopes on the inoculation programme to return the city to normality and get spending flowing again.

While most of the priority groups welcomed the government arrangement, some remained cautious about the risks of vaccination and warned against turning the inoculation drive into a prerequisite to work.

The government said on Monday it was expanding the vaccination campaign to another 1.3 million people in seven groups, taking the total number of residents eligible for the shots to about 3.7 million. The new sectors are catering, construction, education, tourism, public transport, property management companies and companies running venues heavily affected by social-distancing restrictions, such as gyms and beauty parlours.

The government initially prioritised people aged 60 or above, health care workers, public service workers, cross-border transport workers and residents and staff of care homes. About 113, 500 people had received a first shot by Tuesday, while workers in the newly added groups could book slots online to receive either the Sinovac or BioNTech vaccine starting from Tuesday.

Hong Kong has so far struck deals to purchase 22.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, enough for its population of 7.5 million, although the final shots are not expected to arrive until the middle of the year.