Free COVID-19 vaccine for all residents eyed as HK sees 103 new cases

Secretary for Food and Health Prof. Sophia Chan speaks about the procurement of coronavirus vaccines at the Legislative Council meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 3. (SCREENSHOT: Legislative Council Webcast/legco.gov.hk)

Hong Kong’s health minister on Wednesday unveiled plans to provide free and voluntary COVID-19 vaccination for all its residents as the city confirmed 103 new coronavirus cases.

Secretary for Food and Health Prof. Sophia Chan Siu-hee told lawmakers at the Legislative Council meeting today that the government will prioritize giving the COVID-19 vaccine to around 3 million people belonging to high-risk groups.

Chan said they have also earmarked HK$10 million for publicity and education on COVID-19 immunisation to help inoculate the city’s 7.5 million-strong population quickly.

“We will also suitably clarify rumours and misinformation so as to increase the public’s understanding of the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines,” Chan said.

The World Health Organization has 48 vaccines against COVID-19 undergoing clinical trials, with 11 of them entering phase 3. One of them is manufactured by pharmaceutical firm Pfizer and biotechnology company BioNTech, which the United Kingdom had approved for mass rollout next week.

Chan said the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Hong Kong and the Department of Health will prioritise the approval of the procured vaccines for use.

Of the 103 confirmed cases on Wednesday, 16 more cases were added to a growing infection cluster linked to a construction site in LOHAS Park. Another 39 cases were linked to a residential care home in Shau Kei Wan.

Hong Kong’s cluster of infections traced back to dancing venues—the largest the city has ever recorded—saw 13 more people contracting the virus, totaling 567 linked cases.

Fifteen of the detected cases today have no traceable origin of infection, while six infected individuals were recent arrivals. About 70 tested preliminarily positive.

A 73-year-old female patient with COVID-19 died earlier today. She was an imported case of COVID-19, and she was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Oct. 2.

While she was released on Oct. 19 after testing negative, she required mechanical ventilation and remained in the intensive care unit (ICU) before passing away.

Dr. Lau Ka-hin from the Hospital Authority warned that the occupancy rate of negative pressure beds in ICU has exceeded 50%, as he expects more patients to require intensive care as their health situation deteriorated.

“The COVID-19 patients usually require two weeks to be discharged,” “So those with weak conditions may need to stay longer, which puts pressure on our isolation facilities.”

The number of deaths linked to COVID-19 stands at 110, and the total confirmed cases recorded at 6,499.