The surge reveals what occurs when COVID-19 strikes a inhabitants unprotected by immunity from earlier infections, and has uncovered a low vaccination charge amongst aged residents who’re bearing the brunt of the disaster.
Solely about 30% of Hong Kong residents over the age of 80 and round 58% of these of their 70s are totally vaccinated, lagging youthful populations by a big margin. That is even if vaccines have been broadly obtainable in Hong Kong since early 2021.
Town has reported about 150 deaths prior to now three days, many among the many unvaccinated aged.
Well being authorities stated that the vaccine reluctance among the many aged is an unlucky side-effect of Hong Kong’s success in heading off the virus for months.
Many individuals thought that the danger of getting COVID-19 was nearly nil since there have been no circumstances, and senior residents have been led to imagine that the danger of vaccination was higher than not getting vaccinated, stated Karen Grépin, a public well being knowledgeable on the College of Hong Kong.
Tons of of thousands and thousands of jabs have been given to folks all over the world and few critical dangers have been recognized after intense security monitoring. However early studies of some antagonistic reactions to the vaccine in Hong Kong created a false notion that individuals wanted to be completely wholesome to get vaccinated.
“Hong Kong is the world’s guinea pig, with regards to omicron,” stated Grépin.
The Hong Kong expertise can also maintain classes for mainland China and its choice on when to re-open its borders and get rid of a two- to three-week quarantine requirement for anyone coming into the nation. Solely a small proportion of the inhabitants has been contaminated, because of the Communist Celebration’s strict zero-COVID method of mass testing and lockdowns.
The Hong Kong authorities’s response has been to ramp up a zero-COVID method just like the mainland. Chinese language officers have urged Hong Kong to stay to the method, regardless of grumbling from residents, with even chief Xi Jinping weighing in to verify the message received by.
Underneath the zero COVID-19 coverage, everybody who checks optimistic in Hong Kong must be remoted. Whereas this labored prior to now, Hong Kong, not like the mainland, doesn’t have the beds to isolate so many individuals in a big outbreak.
Development groups from the mainland are dashing to construct two everlasting and 4 non permanent isolation and remedy facilities to deal with greater than 20,000 sufferers in an effort harking back to the early days of the virus when China threw up two non permanent hospitals within the metropolis of Wuhan in a matter of days.
Authorities additionally launched a vaccine move on Thursday, requiring vaccination to enter purchasing malls and different premises, and it’s driving some to get the shot.
“If I don’t get vaccinated, I can’t even go to eating places,” stated 73-year-old Yu Mui as she lined up for her first dose Friday. “So I’ve to return right here right this moment though I’m fearful in regards to the unwanted effects.”
Scientists imagine that the omicron variant is milder than the delta model of the virus. However Hong Kong’s scenario is sort of distinctive. In different nations the place the omicron variant unfold, folks had immunity from vaccines or earlier infections, and this blunted the severity of the illness.
With many individuals unvaccinated and weak, Michal Head, a world well being knowledgeable at College of Southampton, fears that it could have a “worryingly excessive burden of extreme COVID-19 in coming weeks”.
“Omicron has been described by some as ‘gentle’. However it’s actually nonetheless extreme sufficient to have a excessive mortality charge, far larger than flu or different comparable respiratory infections,” he warned.
Irene Leung, who’s 70, stated she didn’t really feel the have to be vaccinated earlier as a result of the pandemic was below management in Hong Kong. On Friday, she lined up for her first dose.
“However now it will get worse and so I made a decision to return and get vaccinated,” she stated. “It protects not solely myself but additionally my members of the family.”
And Hong Kong has introduced it’ll take a look at everybody within the metropolis subsequent month, taking one other web page from the mainland playbook. China has despatched in consultants and others to place up non permanent labs to deal with the quantity of checks.
However Benjamin Cowling, who research epidemics at Hong Kong College, suggested towards mass testing in March since it might be exhausting to take care of the sheer variety of confirmed circumstances that the method would throw up. As a substitute, he steered utilizing the nimbler, fast checks to alert folks to isolate at dwelling in the event that they have been contaminated and had gentle signs.
The ultra-contagious nature of the omicron variant signifies that except you might have extremely stringent lockdown measures, mask-wearing and social distancing norms, you’re not going to stem the unfold, stated Dr. Jimmy Whitworth, an infectious ailments knowledgeable on the London Faculty of Hygiene and Tropical Medication.
Even China is battling a number of outbreaks, although they’re much smaller than Hong Kong’s. China on Sunday reported 239 new circumstances within the mainland, of which 127 have been amongst individuals who had arrived from abroad.
Hong Kong, by comparability, on Saturday reported greater than 17,000 new circumstances within the newest 24-hour interval and 66 deaths.
Whitworth stated that Hong Kong’s precedence proper now needs to be to encourage vaccination. “That’s by far and away, a very powerful message. And notably concentrating on the aged,”
Ghosal reported from New Delhi. Related Press author Ken Moritsugu in Beijing and information assistant Janice Lo in Hong Kong contributed.
The Related Press Well being and Science Division receives assist from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Division of Science Schooling. The AP is solely liable for all content material.
