Rights advocate warns of vaccine discrimination

Tim Pang from the Society for Community Organisation said some people’s health condition meant they weren’t able to have a jab. He was commenting after the government announced a Vaccine Bubble scheme, allowing people to visit care homes, and easing restrictions for bars, restaurants, and cross-border travel.

Non-vaccinated people can also visit care homes if they have a negative test result. But Pang said this was costly.

“If they need a certificate, they will have to pay HK$240 each time so if they visit once in a week, it’s almost HK$1,000 a month which will not be affordable for a grass-roots family,” he said.

Pang said the government should provide free Covid tests for those who were unable to get the vaccine.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Equal Opportunities Commission, Ricky Chu, has said society needs to be careful not to discriminate against people who haven’t been vaccinated.

He told RTHK that complaints and enquiries were starting to come in about different treatment being given to vaccinated people. But he said, as long as the government’s anti-epidemic measures were reasonable, the measures would have a strong legal standing.

“If it is reasonable for curing the pandemic then it would not violate the law of discrimination,” he said.

Chu said it was important to take the line of what was reasonable when viewing the matter.