01 view
Written by: Commentary Editing Room
2021-05-24 18:30
Last update date: 2021-05-24 18:30
The COVID-19 vaccination plan has been in operation for nearly three months, but the public's attitude towards vaccination is generally indifferent, and the current vaccination rate only accounts for about 20% of the total population.
In order to increase the vaccination rate, some politicians have recently urged the government to use a tougher approach to "grain needles." However, this move must strike a balance between personal freedom and civic responsibility, otherwise it will only be self-defeating and arouse greater disgust from the public.
Executive Council member Lam Ching-choi said that Hong Kong has recently shown its ability to "clear zero", but customs clearance with the Mainland still depends on whether the vaccination progress is reaching 70% of the population.
(Profile picture / Zhang Haowei)
As of Sunday (23rd), the government has vaccinated about 1.25 million citizens, of which about 890,000 have completed the second dose. The vaccination rate is only about 20%, far lower than the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, and Italy. In European and American countries, the situation is far from ideal.
It is recommended to have both tough requirements and mild incentives
In view of the embarrassing situation of "there are needles and no one is hit," local politicians have continued to hope that the government will have a policy of "grain needles."
Although the Director of the Civil Service Bureau Nie Dequan pointed out that vaccination rate is one of the considerations for customs clearance between land and Hong Kong, Liang Zhenying, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former chief executive, issued an article stating that the resumption of customs clearance is not an effective "grain needle" incentive, and said People who do not want China and Hong Kong to resume normal exchanges continue to resist.
On the contrary, Liang Zhenying believes that the government must emphasize civic responsibilities and stipulate that the full fee must be paid for vaccination after the deadline has passed. "It cannot be left to nothing."
Legislative Council Member He Junyao also said earlier that the government should compel citizens to vaccinate. Once citizens fail to receive the vaccine on time, they will have to pay 10,000 yuan for the supplement. This will allow citizens to "go back and get the shot first."
In contrast, the position of Lin Jianfeng, a member of the Executive Council and a member of the Pakatan Harapan Legislative Council, is much more moderate.
During a radio interview, Lin Jianfeng quoted business people as saying that the sector is willing to contribute to increasing the vaccination rate, such as offering discounts such as buffets and stored-value tickets to citizens who have completed vaccination, or receiving a one-off consumption coupon of 5,000 yuan.
Providing affordable medical services is a moral obligation
Increasing the vaccination rate to 70% or above can certainly prevent fatigue from the group, and it can also help restore communication between Hong Kong and the Mainland and the world. However, this kind of goodwill must also be expressed with appropriate measures, otherwise it will also arouse public disgust.
Even though the civic responsibility emphasized by Liang Zhenying is an ideal virtue, asking the government to set a "final vaccination period" and recover the full fee may violate the government's moral responsibility to provide citizens with affordable medical services and cure infectious diseases.
Article 39 of the Basic Law stipulates that “the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights...the relevant provisions applicable to Hong Kong continue to be effective”, while Article 12 of the Convention stipulates that “everyone has the right to enjoy what is possible. The highest standards of physical and mental health" and "the steps taken to fully realize this right shall include the measures necessary to achieve the following goals...to prevent, treat and eradicate various infectious diseases, endemic diseases, occupational diseases, and other Diseases; create an environment to ensure that everyone can enjoy medical services and medical care when they are sick.” If the government wants to take tough measures to "grain needles," it must explain clearly to the public the differences in various vaccine policies, and at the same time, it cannot make All disadvantaged groups in society have lost the opportunity to be vaccinated due to financial problems.
In terms of soft incentives, countries have already thought of many ways to increase the vaccination rate.
For example, U.S. President Biden not only approached the call-hailing car company Uber and Lyft to cooperate to launch a free shuttle service, but also cooperated with the fast food chain McDonald's to print relevant slogans on their tableware.
The European Commission also announced earlier that it would relax restrictions on non-essential travel overseas during the peak tourist season and allow passengers who have completed vaccination approved by the European Union to enter. These are all other incentives that can attract people to vaccination.
Although herd immunization is a top priority, compared to hard-line drawing and restricting citizens' early vaccination, multi-pronged soft incentives can take into account the government's obligation to provide affordable medical services, so as to balance personal choice and public responsibilities.
Vaccination to build a social protection net
When will the government outsourcing addiction end?
The government has no shortage of plans to respond to compulsory quarantine or hand-to-mouth suspension
New Coronary Pneumonia New Coronary Vaccine Liang Zhenying 01 Viewpoint
