‘Covid here to stay, so vaccination is key’

Leading microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung on Sunday said it would not be a problem if Hong Kong can’t achieve zero Covid infections, so long as everyone are vaccinated.

The government pandemic adviser added that Covid-19 is to stay for a long time.

Yuen estimated that some 2.5 million people in Hong Kong have already been infected with the virus.

And after peaking in early March, he expects the daily caseload to drop below 10,000 a week later, and under 1,000 in several weeks’ time.

“We don’t need to consider whether we can achieve zero infections, not that we are not going to do it, but even if we can’t, it’s not a big deal so long as all of you are vaccinated,” Yuen said on a Commercial Radio programme.

He later told reporters, “It’s not up to you to pursue zero or not. [Covid-19] will be with us for a long time.

“You can achieve a low level, but it’s highly unlikely that it will disappear because the virus will mutate and change its surface protein so that your neutralising anti-bodies are not able to neutralise it.”

He said instead of the PCR test figures, the focus should be on the fatality and hospitalisation figures.

The expert said the symptoms of Omicron are rather mild to people who are vaccinated, and could serve as a “booster” to their immune response.

But he also said elderly people will probably require yearly vaccination to boost their immunity, and people’s choice of vaccine should be respected.

“Although BioNTech is better in terms of protection against Omicron, we still have to consider that some people may be afraid of its side-effects and want Sinovac, three doses, that provides some degree of protection against Omicron too.”

Yuen also said Hong Kong can reopen its borders to international travellers as long as they are fully vaccinated and test negative on arrival.

“The amount of cases in the community is far higher than the risk of introduction from overseas travellers. I do not think there’s a need to wait any longer,” he said.

But he said arrivals would still need to conduct daily rapid tests for a period of time, and should be sent to isolation facilities or be isolated at home if they test positive.

Yuen also said the government needs to think carefully before going ahead with a plan to test every one in Hong Kong, warning it could be a waste of money and disappoint many people if the number of cases rebounds after the mass-testing exercise.

He also believes the government’s vaccine pass scheme should be extended to public transport and involve random checks on passengers.