Govt urged to make Covid vaccination holidays a law

A unionist has called on the government to give two days off for people to get the Covid-19 vaccines to boost the take-up rate, but a lawmaker said it won’t work until the administration clears up misunderstandings over the safety of the jabs.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam had said civil servants may be given days off for them to be inoculated against the coronavirus, but Bill Tang from the pro-government Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) said this should apply to everyone in Hong Kong.

He said the government should also consider legislation on it alongside other anti-epidemic laws under the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance.

“We noticed that the Jockey Club and the Airport Authority allow staff members to rest on the day they get the vaccines and on the following day. It’s reasonable. If they need more rest, departments could consider it on discretion. And, it should apply not only to civil servants, the government should make it a temporary law,” Tang told an RTHK programme on Wednesday.

The Jockey Club had said fully vaccinated full-timers and temporary monthly-paid staff could apply for a maximum of three days of paid leave, and hourly-paid part-timers would be offered a special allowance after they get both shots.

Tang said a civil servant group under the FTU has done a survey, and found that most supported the idea of vaccination holidays, but Tang also noted only 20 to 30 percent of respondents said the days off would be an incentive for them to get the shots.

Liberal Party leader Felix Chung, meanwhile, said not everything has to be handled by legislation, but said he hopes businesses that could afford it would at least allow staff members to take half a day off to rest after they get jabs.

Chung told the same radio programme that the key to boost inoculation rate is to clear the misunderstanding over the safety of the vaccines, for example, by explaining with statistics that the vaccines do not lead to coronary heart diseases.