'Annual Covid-19 Vaccinations Likely Necessary'

Infectious disease specialist Ivan Hung on Sunday said people will likely have to get vaccinated against Covid-19 every year from now, as he urged people to get inoculated against the virus.

Speaking on RTHK’s Letter to Hong Kong , the University of Hong Kong academic acknowledged that people may have some concerns about new vaccines whose development have been expedited to address the pandemic.

He said while pharmaceutical companies have been given special exemption from liability clauses should people experiencee adverse side-effects, “Neverheless, the vaccine manufacturers still have to take responsibility to ensure the quality of the vaccines.”

Hung also warned that the protective effect of these jabs likely won’t last indefinitely, noting a case where a Covid patient got re-infected after recovering.

“We understand that the antibody will drop to an undetectable level over a period of around 6 months. It is likely that similar to the influenza vaccine, annual Covid-19 vaccination will be required and vigilance in infection control and face masking might still be needed,” he said.

Hung also said a vaccine that is delivered via the nose instead of an injection that is being developed by the University of Hong Kong is due to launch clinical trials early next year, and researchers hope phase 3 human trials will be conducted later in the year.

“This vaccine has the potential of conferring local immunity at the nasal passage and could combine the seasonal flu and Covid19 as a single vaccine to be given annually,” he said.

The academic also urged people – especially those at particular risk such as the elderly and chronically ill – to get vaccinated, as past experience shows that they are at “high risks of deterioration and complication of developing of severe pneumonia” I if they catch the virus.