'Businessmen Undecided On Which Vaccine To Take'

The honorary chairman of the Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association, Danny Lau, said on Friday the business sector is unsure which Covid-19 vaccine to take as different countries currently recognise different jabs.

European officials have recently unveiled plans for a "vaccine passport" which would allow anyone vaccinated against Covid-19, or recently recovered from the virus to travel within the EU.

However, the vaccines must be approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

So far, the EMA has not approved the mainland-produced Sinovac and Sinopharm jabs, or Russia’s Sputnik V.

Speaking on an RTHK programme, Lau said travel restrictions had severely affected cross-border business activities and he questioned whether those who need to travel to different countries need to receive shots from different manufacturers.

"So if we have to go to three places, do we need to get all three different vaccines? From a medical perspective, can our bodies accept all three vaccines?" he asked.

The businessman said the association's members plan to wait and see whether the World Health Organisation would offer guidelines on vaccine passports.

But tourism sector legislator Yiu Si-wing brushed aside Lau’s concerns, saying he believes the problem will eventually be addressed as many countries are desperate to kickstart their economies.

He added that Hong Kong can start discussing vaccine passports with other countries, saying Singapore will likely be the first country the SAR can resume travel with since the two places had already set up a "travel bubble."

Special flights between Hong Kong and the Lion City were originally set to begin last November before a surge in coronavirus cases in the SAR forced its indefinite postponement.