Coronavirus: vaccination rate among Hong Kong’s elderly ‘shameful’, former Centre for Health Protection chief says
- Dr Thomas Tsang notes rates for older groups in many Western countries sit at 80 to 90 per cent, while just 14.6 per cent of local octogenarians have been jabbed
- New care home programme will only mean greater freedom for residents, geriatrician argues; Hong Kong, meanwhile, confirms 5 new imported cases
Dr Thomas Tsang Ho-fai, former head of the Centre for Health Protection, on Saturday noted the stark difference between the inoculation rate for Hong Kong’s elderly – the lowest of any demographic locally – and that of numerous developed countries where 80 to 90 per cent of them have been vaccinated.
“Many Western countries have their inoculation rate [among the elderly] at more than 90 per cent. The rate in Hong Kong is a bit shameful … More flexible visiting arrangements are allowed at nursing homes in other countries because they have a high vaccination rate,” he told a local radio show.
Just 14.6 per cent of residents aged 80 or above had received their first dose of vaccine as of Friday, a number that grows to 40.3 per cent for those in the 70-79 age group.
Overall, 66.8 per cent of eligible residents have received at least one jab.
Tsang, a member of the government’s advisory panel on vaccines, defended the new scheme to automatically vaccinate elderly residents at 10 designated facilities unless they or their families explicitly opted out. The medically unfit are exempt.
“From overseas experience, we can see that homes for the elderly are [potentially] one of the hardest-hit areas … They have a high infection rate,” he said. “It’s a time bomb. If you don’t defuse it now, it may explode once the coronavirus has spread in care homes.”