Doctors Warn Another Covid Wave May Be Just As Deadly

The Hong Kong College of Physicians cautioned on Sunday that another wave of Covid infections could prove as deadly as the current Omicron-driven outbreak for people over 60, if vaccine uptake in this age group is still low at the time.

The group's president, Philip Li, said unvaccinated people over 60 are 21 times more likely to die from the Omicron strain than those who have been jabbed, but some 350,000 haven't had a dose yet.

"If the situation does not improve, these individuals who did not get vaccinated, their severity of disease will not be different from what we had witnessed in the fifth wave," he told RTHK.

"So the requirement for admission to hospitals, the requirement for ventilation, and also, the final outcome of mortality will still be very much high."

Li attributed the low inoculation rate to misconceptions about Covid jabs and the Omicron variant, and said the advice of medical professionals also had an impact.

"In the early phase of the promotion of vaccination, I think, sometimes, some of the medical professionals may also have a more observant mentality, because honestly at that time, the vaccine was still in the early stage," he said.

"But I think after over one year of practice of the use of vaccination, the safety of the vaccination is very much confirmed in Hong Kong as well as around the world."