Last Call for Sinovac Jabs in HK

Sinovac was the vaccine of choice of mostly pro-Beijing ppl

Remember when vaccines were first available in Hong Kong during the Covid-19 pandemic and there were two to choose from -- Sinovac from China, and Pfizer-BioNTech from Germany? 

Sinovac is an inactivated vaccines, whereas BioNTech is an mRNA vaccine that doesn't use a live virus to trigger an immune response. Instead it teaches the body's cells to make proteins to trigger an immune response by making antibodies to fight the infection when the virus enters the body.

For the most part in Hong Kong, choosing the vaccine fell along political lines -- those who were pro-Beijing got the Sinovac jab, others the latter, though some people refused to get any kind of vaccination because of total mistrust of the government, which to me was mind boggling.

Then CE Carrie Lam chose Sinovac for her jab

In the end the US Center for Disease Control found in a 2022 report that receiving two or three doses of mRNA vaccine resulted in a 90 percent reduction in the risk of being infected with Covid-19 or death. Having three jabs during the Omicron wave gave 94 percent protection.

Hong Kong continued to offer Sinovac, but that offer ends soon as the government has almost finished using up its supply of Chinese vaccines.

The Centre for Health Protection said it would stop offering the Sinovac jab after its current supply expires on October 3. 

"The vaccine supplier confirmed that they will no longer produce the vaccine," the centre said.

Perhaps it's because the vaccine has been shown to not be very effective?

Interestingly the Hong Kong government is still urging those who have not yet been vaccinated this whole time to do so with Sinovac at least, and then get an mRNA vaccine after.

Get the Fourth Jab Now

Over 81 percent of fourth jabs in HK are the bivalent vaccine

It is heartening to know a lot of people in Hong Kong have signed up to have the bivalent booster vaccine, a five-fold jump from last week.

Leung says fourth jab prevents severe illness

A week ago, 9,232 people got the fourth shot, but this week it jumped to 47,742, with 81 percent of them opting for the BioNTech bivalent jab, the rest Sinovac.

Respiratory specialist Dr Leung Chi-chiu appealed to the elderly and other high-risk groups, including those living in care homes and those who are immunocompromised or suffering from chronic diseases to get their fourth shot, as the number of infected cases is on the rise.

"A fourth jab is mainly to prevent hospitalisation, severe illness and death," he said.

The last point should be enough to motivate people, no?

University of Hong Kong microbiologist Dr Ho Pak-leung said the government should encourage residents 6o years and older to get their fourth dose as soon as possible. 

Ho says over 700K elderly still need fourth jab

He cited 95 percent of the city's virus-related fatalities last month involved people who were above the age of 60. Ho added 700,000 elderly were eligible to get the fourth jab but still hadn't done so.

Seriously -- what are they waiting for?

Getting HK Priorities Straight

Diners are flocking to Tung Po Kitchen for the last hurrah

The famous or infamous Tung Po Kitchen is closing today (September 2 Hong Kong time) after 30 years. It's a dai pai dong in the Java Road Municipal Services Building, in other words, the North Point wet market. 

It took over a big area of  the cooked food area of the wet market, its owner Robby Cheung a charismatic frontman, who entertained guests by opening beer bottles with a chopstick, and joined them in drinking beers in ceramic bowls, along with singing and dancing.

Owner Robby Cheung (left) is a lively character

The Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department cracked down on the eatery, saying that in an investigation since May 2021, Tung Po was suspected of having illegal subleases by four tenants, and in fact they did not operate as sole proprietors, and therefore in breach of their tenancy agreements.

Tung Po tried to appeal, but it was rejected and now must close.

I have eaten there twice, the first time with a group of colleagues and enjoyed the delicious claypot dishes like braised tofu or vermicelli with melon and dried shrimp, as well as claypot rice, along with steamed razor clams, and clams stirfried with black bean sauce.

The second time I went with YTSL and I ordered braised eggplant with minced pork. I should have waited for it to cool down and managed to burn my throat -- very painful! I left the next day for New York and even went to the hospital emergency to get it checked out. All I could do was keep gargling some green medicated liquid to keep my throat clean. The only thing I could eat pain-free was ice cream for a few days. 

Seafood dishes well known, lotus-wrapped rice

So while I don't miss the greasy floors and plastic stools, it is infuriating to see the government has suddenly decided to enforce laws now, when Tung Po had been violating it for years.

The same goes for illegal kaito ferry boats, some of which, it has been discovered, are operating without licenses. Some are rented out for outings by customers, others service outlying islands and transport people to and from Hong Kong Island mostly in the evenings.

Apparently the Marine Department conducted over 45 special patrols between 2017 and 2020 and says the number of inspections has to be stepped up to crack down on illegal kaito services.

Does this sudden crackdown on services and businesses using colonial laws have to do with the fact that a former cop is now Hong Kong's leader?

HK can't splurge on BioNTech jabs for kids?

People have complained that groups of police officers are on the prowl for any groups of more than four people on the street together to fine them HK$5,000 each, while four robbers got away with over HK$10 million in luxury watches after robbing a Causeway Bay shop.

What kind of law and order is happening in Hong Kong these days?

Meanwhile the government doesn't seem to value its next generation and won't procure BioNTech vaccines for children six months to three years old because it's "too pricey". Children can only get Sinovac shots.

On Thursday the number of Covid-19 cases jumped to 10,586, the first time since late March when the cases hit over 10,000. 

The percentage of vaccinations in children aged six months to three years is only at 11.7 percent of the total age group, and health officials are urging parents to get their children jabbed as school starts.

Over HK$330M for quarantine camps in Lantau

But why are these kids being treated different from adults, who get to choose between Sinovac and BioNTech?

It's not surprising some parents are cautious about vaccinations and having a choice would motivate them to get their children inoculated.

Meanwhile the government spent HK$330 million on three Covid-19 quarantine camps near Disneyland, and over HK$500 million on PCR tests since July 1 this year.

Macau Locks Down to Stamp Out Omicron

Macau shuts down its casinos this week, gaming stocks fall

From today casinos in Macau will be shut for a week in a bid to clamp down on Covid-19 Omicron infections that have spiked -- to 71 infections on Saturday. It has a total of 1,526 infections. This compares to Hong Kong's 1.271 million cases.

For Macau 71 cases is a lot considering it had zero infections for the longest time, and the random case here and there.

This is the first time since February 2020 -- when the pandemic first began -- that casinos are closed temporarily. 

All residents will face a battery of PCR tests

When news broke about the impending lockdown, gaming shares fell between 6.1 percent for SJM Holdings, founded by the late casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun, and 7 percent for Sands China, a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands.

Schools and entertainment venues, such as bars and cinemas had already closed because of rising infections and casinos were the last to shut down.

Only those businesses deemed essential are allowed to stay open, otherwise everyone else needs to stay at home. There is no dine-in service at restaurants either. 

The word is that Beijing is not happy with its "favourite child" up until now, and may be using the pandemic as an opportunity to take down the gambling industry several notches in an attempt to make Macau less dependent on gamblers.

However, this will be a tall order as this is the only industry modern Macau has known since the 1960s when Ho won the former Portuguese colony's monopoly gambling license.

Beijing plans to minimise gambling in Macau

In the meantime, while 91 percent of Macanese residents have received two doses of the vaccine -- many of which are probably Sinovac -- the numbers are even less clear for those who have gotten boosters.

Macau is like Hong Kong in that they are both at the mercy of China when it comes to reopening borders.

But Macau only has 600,000 people and doesn't have the volume to support the economy in the long term on its own, whereas Hong Kong still seems to find money to open restaurants and shops, though not at the rate of replacing the ones that have closed.

So we will eagerly watch what happens in Macau this week to see if the lockdown works according to the "zero Covid" strategy, and how the city will be remade even further into China's image...

Vancouver Moves from Pandemic, HK still Bickering

Chan says vaccine pass the only way to bump up jab rate

It's been one month since I came back to Vancouver and so far, so good. 

While the sixth wave of Covid-19 here apparently peaked last week, there is no urgent concern about it in the media -- in fact media outlets are tired of reporting on the pandemic and have now jumped on Monkey Pox, a very rare skin disease that was discovered in two patients so far in Quebec.

This is a stark contrast to Hong Kong, where health experts are verbally duelling with the Secretary for Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee about vaccinations. 

Cowling says vaccine pass can cause hesitancy

Two University of Hong Kong academics, epidemiologist Ben Cowling and assistant pharmacy professor Theo Chan Tak-kwong say the government should drop the vaccine pass, as it forces people to get jabs in order to go to work, and so it makes them even more hesitant to get inoculated.

However, Dr Sophia Chan wrote in an opinion piece in Ming Pao that the vaccine pass was still necessary to build the city's immunity against Covid-19 so that its residents can resume a relatively normal life as Hong Kong continues to strive for dynamic zero -- a goal many experts say is impossible to achieve.

She noted some people may not want to get vaccinated as they didn't see the benefits of it, and hinted they were being selfish instead of thinking of the greater public good. And so Chan said the authorities needed to build a strong immunity barrier to protect people who are high risk from the coronavirus, including the elderly and patients with chronic diseases.

HKers need jabs to dine out, go to movies, etc

But the elderly and those with chronic diseases are the ones who should be prioritised in getting jabbed -- even if it's with the Chinese-made vaccine Sinovac.

During her tenure as the Secretary for Health, less than 23 percent of people over 80 were vaccinated when the fifth wave hit, which resulted in just under 7,000 deaths in March alone.

But honestly it's quite shocking to hear people in Hong Kong only recently getting their second jab, when I am waiting to get my fourth in a few months' time.

Another infectious diseases expert, Yuen Kwok-yung, agreed with Chan, saying the vaccine pass was necessary to increase the number of vaccinations to prevent another wave of infections, unless 95 percent of the population was inoculated.

In British Columbia, it's quite surprising to hear that even though 84 percent of the population have had two doses, it drops down to 52.1 percent for the booster. Seems that many people here have pandemic fatigue and want to move on, while others, particularly the elderly are actively wearing masks on the street and in stores.

Over 84 percent British Columbians inoculated

Companies here are trying to entice their employees to come back to the office, but people are dragging their feet or demanding more days at home, while in Hong Kong it's pretty much expected people return to the office unless they are vaccinated -- another reason not to get jabbed.

And so the cycle continues...