Peter Kammerer

Shades Off | Ultimately, vaccine refuseniks are to blame for Omicron’s deadly chaos in Hong Kong

The government could have done a lot better but at the root of the matter lies the failure of too many people to get vaccinated, putting themselves and others around them at risk

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Funeral home staff load a dead body into a van outside the Caritas Medical Center in Hong Kong, on March 2. Photo: EPA-EFE

Peter Kammerer

Published: 6:45am, 8 Mar 2022Updated: 6:59am, 8 Mar 2022

Omicron was bound to rampage through Hong Kong, just as it has everywhere else. What I didn’t expect was the government’s incompetent response. Sticking firmly to its belief that it can vanquish the coronavirus in all its forms from the city’s boundaries, it ignored the ample evidence from overseas of what could be expected.

But while it is tempting to blame officials for the resultant chaos, those really at fault are the people who refused to get vaccinated.

The death toll from the fifth wave of the city’s Covid-19 epidemic is appalling. Most of those who succumbed have been in their 50s and older, although the numbers in their teens and younger is equally devastating. The vast majority have not been jabbed.

There is ample evidence that vaccination prevents serious illness. Some whose condition is precarious shouldn’t get a shot; that is a doctor’s call. But, for the sake of self-protection and to control the spread of the disease, as many as possible have to be inoculated.

The government was quick to procure enough vaccines and has for 13 months made them available for free. It went further than many other jurisdictions, offering old technology and new, Chinese and Western, through Sinovac and BioNTech. While the latter has a better efficacy, their differing side effects ensure that all ages and health situations can be catered for.

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Vaccination has not been made mandatory and it is up to individuals whether they get a jab, a good compromise in a city where surveys have long shown trust in the government is low.