All walks of life should actively cooperate to increase the vaccination rate and control the epidemic

The government announced on Monday (2nd) that it will continue to strengthen the new crown vaccination measures, requiring all government departments, the Hospital Authority, the staff of institutions, and elementary and secondary schools to be vaccinated, otherwise regular virus tests must be carried out at their own expense.

Variant virus strains are raging all over the world. Hong Kong people must be vaccinated on a large scale as soon as possible. If the virus successfully invades society, it can also reduce local serious illnesses and deaths.

In view of the fact that even Western governments, which advocate individual choice, require mandatory injections for specific groups and allow employers to force employees to administer injections, the Hong Kong government’s newly revised vaccine policy is nothing unusual, and the justifications for opposing measures become harder to hold.

Some groups have criticized the new policy. For example, Ling Xiaozhi, chairman of the Public Hospital Doctors Association, pointed out that the vaccinations of HA staff have been rising, reflecting the effectiveness of the interpretation work. On the contrary, the authorities' requests for injections are too aggressive.

Self-financed testing outside working hours also hurt colleagues' morale, and was disappointed and regretted by the decision.

Indeed, the vaccination rate for HA staff is 67%, and the doctor group is closer to 90%, which is higher than the 49% vaccination rate for eligible citizens in Hong Kong.

They are actively taking injections and their actions are worthy of recognition.

Representatives of doctors organizations can discuss with the HA on testing arrangements, but medical care is at the front line of treating patients, and they have a greater chance of contacting patients with the new crown virus. The government requires medical care to be vaccinated, and the goal is also to protect medical family members, colleagues and patients.

This principle applies to schools, homes and even other workplaces.

Furthermore, the Hong Kong Government still retains the option of not taking injections for employees, but at their own expense, and those who are certified by a doctor to be unsuitable for injections can be refunded. The practice is not harsh.

Even in the United Kingdom and the United States, which uphold freedom and personal choice, the government and society are not one-sidedly opposed to compulsory vaccination.

In the United Kingdom, Secretary of Transportation Charpy and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lan Taowen said that even though they would not legislate to compel injections, they also support companies requiring injections. Technology giants Google and Facebook have required employees in the United States to complete injections before they can set foot in local offices.

Carrie Lam announced new measures to prevent the epidemic, including requiring civil servants, hospital staff, faculty and medical staff to be vaccinated.

(Photo by Li Zetong)

Public health precedes personal choice

The European and American governments are closely monitoring the new crown vaccination rate because the Delta variant virus strain is extremely contagious.

In the United States, President Biden has not yet implemented mandatory injections by the nationals, but he has instructed federal government employees to be vaccinated or undergo regular tests last Thursday (29th). For example, New York City also requires city officials to have injections.

The US government pointed out that as many as 97% of the new crown patients who were hospitalized and died were not vaccinated.

In fact, in the past, many state governments applied for exemptions for other vaccinations based on religious and philosophical reasons. However, there are voices now requesting that these exemptions be removed, believing that they should not put others at risk because of personal freedom.

Such measures are designed to increase the trouble for people not to get injections and to induce them to get injections.

It is true that more and more medical evidence points out that even full vaccination cannot prevent the infection of the new coronavirus, and the amount of virus in the infected person can be as high as the injection or not.

This is not to say that injections are useless. The biggest function of injections is to effectively reduce critically ill patients and mortality, reduce the pressure on medical care, and free up hospital beds and medical resources to unfortunately become COVID-19 and other severely ill patients.

It is also important that vaccination needs to be fast and comprehensive. Recent medical studies have estimated that vaccines will promote the emergence of variant viruses against vaccines based on infection models. However, humans have a way to stop this situation by speeding up vaccination and maintaining protective measures such as wearing masks. Scholars believe that a two-pronged approach can help prevent the virus from evolving.

New York will force civil servants to vaccinate against the new crown, hoping to encourage companies and the private sector to support vaccination at the same time.

(AP)

Hong Kong's recent foreign import prevention measures have worked, and they have prevented the mutant virus from entering the community. In recent months, citizens have been able to relax their social spending when going out.

Don't forget that the relatively mild state of the epidemic will be interrupted at any time.

Just as the mainland has strict border controls, it is also busy responding to cases in many provinces and cities. In addition, the global epidemic is still severe, and Hong Kong's epidemic prevention work is constantly under great pressure.

Since the supply of vaccines is abundant, Hong Kong people should be vaccinated as soon as possible if their health permits. If the virus enters the community, other people who are not eligible for vaccination can be protected in time.

The Hong Kong government is now doing everything possible to increase the vaccination rate in order to prevent the epidemic and return to normal society. All sectors should actively cooperate.

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