Priscilla Lui Tsang Sun-kai, a non-official member of the commission, earlier said both the government’s intention and parents’ concerns were understandable, while children’s safety and survival had to be balanced.

“Children have rights. If we are not cautious in handling the pandemic and cause their deaths, it is also considered neglect,” she said. “The government’s motive is to encourage children to get vaccinated and prevent severe symptoms and deaths.”

She said parents’ concerns were “not unreasonable”, adding that the government should come up with methods to avoid depriving children of their rights under the vaccine pass scheme.

“Parents have concrete concerns. Some did not vaccinate their children. Is it then punishing them if you ban the children from premises? Parents may leave their young ones home alone and head to the market, which is unsafe,” she said.

Lui suggested more outreach services could be organised to explain vaccination safety to parents who might not have access to such information.

Hong Kong leader says focus is on Covid cases, no decision on easing quarantine

The Hong Kong Committee on Children’s Rights on Monday said its Facebook page had received more than 1,600 messages on the change to the vaccine pass since last Friday, with many of them from concerned parents.

The group said some parents were worried about a second jab as their children had fallen ill for a prolonged period after the first dose. It also pointed out that without access to public venues, children’s long-term development might be affected.

According to government data, as of Wednesday, 67.16 per cent of the city’s 502,600 residents aged between three and 11 years have received two doses of a coronavirus vaccine, while 81.32 per cent have taken their first jab.

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Another non-official member of the Commission on Children, Dr Patrick Ip Pak-keung, from the University of Hong Kong’s paediatrics and adolescent medicine department, disagreed with the committee’s comments, saying vaccinating children would be equivalent to protecting their rights.

“The government’ move is not an attempt to deprive children of their rights. It hopes that parents can wake up and vaccinate their children,” he said.

“If parents are worried that the vaccine pass will make going to school or dining out inconvenient, they should vaccinate their children as soon as possible, instead of asking the government to drop the plan.”

He warned that outbreaks might be “out of control” in the coming winter, urging parents to arrange inoculation for their children during the summer.

“We are worried that there may be more than 1,000 children getting infected daily in the winter, and some may die or suffer from severe symptoms or long-term effects,” he said.

“Now that the situation is relatively stable, it is irresponsible not to encourage more children to be inoculated through the government measures.”

Ip said authorities should consider a more family-friendly approach targeting the needs of parents with young children, such as setting up an interactive online platform to facilitate better understanding and assuage vaccine concerns.

More children inoculated as Hong Kong readies to expand Covid-19 vaccine pass

Fellow member Gary Wong Chi-him, who is also on the board of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, backed the vaccine pass extension, adding that the government should take a step back and look into why some parents were still hesitant.

“As children have to go out, they should be in a protected environment, which involves vaccination,” he said. “From the perspective of children’s rights, there are no other rights that are more important than protecting their lives.”

He added that the government should provide resources to address parents’ concerns and support those who might have difficulty accessing vaccines, such as people with special needs or disabilities.

The vaccine pass scheme, which was rolled out in February this year, currently requires people aged 12 or over to be at least triple-vaccinated to enter various premises such as restaurants, swimming pools, sports grounds, and places of entertainment.

Residents as young as six months are allowed to receive the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine in Hong Kong, while the government is still in talks to acquire the children’s version of the German-made BioNTech jab.