'Hong Kong Faces Vaccine Emergency Amid China's Full Border Reopening'

On the 23rd, a quarantine officer is seen guiding travelers on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] With the border between Hong Kong and China expected to fully reopen next month, an emergency has been declared regarding the securing of COVID-19 vaccines and medicines within Hong Kong. If a large number of people cross over from China, where COVID-19 cases are rapidly increasing, the risk of infection could rise.

On the 26th, appearing on Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK, virus expert Professor Jin Dongyan from the University of Hong Kong said, "Many major cities in mainland China are currently going through a 'tsunami' phase of COVID-19 infections," adding, "Hong Kong residents who have traveled to mainland China may become infected there and return, which will put pressure on our medical resources."

However, he believes that the infection risk from travelers coming from China to Hong Kong can be managed. Professor Jin stated, "If Chinese travelers undergo two PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests 1 to 3 days before entering Hong Kong and then take two more PCR tests after arrival, infections originating from China can be filtered out," and he predicted, "Furthermore, most infected travelers will show mild symptoms."

Instead, he emphasized that demand for medicines and vaccines could surge, urging sufficient stockpiling of related medicines and that COVID-19 vaccines should be administered for a fee to those who are not Hong Kong residents.

Currently, in Hong Kong, COVID-19 vaccines are provided free of charge to those who do not have permanent residency but have stayed locally for more than 30 days. However, vaccines are administered for a fee at private and individual hospitals.

In Hong Kong, the Chinese Sinovac vaccine and the US Pfizer-German BioNTech vaccine are available for inoculation.

In China, only domestically developed inactivated vaccines such as Sinopharm and Sinovac are available, which have lower efficacy compared to messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines like Pfizer or Moderna, leading to distrust among Chinese people.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.