Govt Urged To Make Covid Vaccination Holidays A Law

A unionist on Wednesday called on the government to give people two days off to get Covid-19 vaccines to boost the take-up rate, as a lawmaker warned that the administration also needs to clear up "misunderstandings" about the safety of the jabs.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam had said that civil servants may be given days off to get inoculated, but Bill Tang from the pro-government Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) said this should apply to everyone in Hong Kong.

He said the government should also consider legislation on this alongside other anti-epidemic laws under the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance.

“We noticed that the Jockey Club and the Airport Authority allow staff members to rest on the day they get the vaccines and on the following day. It’s reasonable. If they need more rest, departments could consider it on discretion. And, it should apply not only to civil servants, the government should make it a temporary law,” Tang told an RTHK programme on Wednesday.

The Jockey Club had said fully vaccinated full-timers and temporary monthly-paid staff could apply for a maximum of three days of paid leave, and hourly-paid part-timers would be offered a special allowance after they get both shots.

Tang said a civil servant group under the FTU has carried out a survey which found that most people support the idea of vaccination holidays, but he also noted that only 20 to 30 percent of respondents said the days off would be an incentive for them to get the shots.

Liberal Party leader Felix Chung, meanwhile, said not everything has to be handled by legislation and he hopes businesses that can afford it will allow staff members to take at least half a day off to rest after they get jabs.

Chung told the same radio programme that the key to boosting the inoculation rate is to clear up misunderstandings over the safety of the vaccines, for example, by explaining with statistics that the vaccines do not lead to coronary heart disease.