The Politics of Vaccines in Hong Kong

 

Hongkongers keen for vaccine but not Chinese-made ones

 

After last week's announcement that the Hong Kong government had procured 15 million doses of vaccines (two doses per person), but that the first batch of 1 million doses were from Sinovac Biotech and later another 1 million from Pfizer, a lot of residents were not interested in getting the jab following reports that mainland vaccines may not be up to standard.

Sinopharm's vaccine trial in Peru halted

A few days ago there was a story about Sinopharm's vaccine that was undergoing clinical trials in Peru was stopped after a volunteer had difficulty moving their arms.

It's not exactly reassuring to hear about news like that. Apparently these vaccines can't be tested in China because there are not enough positive cases there. Really.

Yesterday Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor blasted Hongkongers who claimed the procurement of mainland-made vaccines was politically motivated, saying Sinovac was chosen following advice from two expert committees of medical professionals.

"Just like all our other anti-epidemic works, there was malicious spreading of rumours, people stigmatizing and politicizing the vaccine procurement, while they quoted unidentified persons with negative comments," she said Tuesday. 

1 million doses of Sinovac vaccine will be in HK

But some residents retorted that if she and other senior government officials were injected with the Sinovac vaccine and they exhibited no serious side effects after two months, then perhaps they too would be willing to be vaccinated.

So while the government has done its best to procure vaccines, trust in the authorities has eroded so much in over a year that Lam and her administration have lost all credibility -- especially at a time like this. Everything has become politicized to the detriment of public health.

One solution? Pay volunteers to take the vaccine.

DAB lawmaker Leung Che-chung suggested at a Legislative Council health services panel that the government pay each volunteer HK$5,000.

"The government is being criticized for giving HK$5,000 to some people who are infected. Those who are infected are awarded. What about those who get vaccinated voluntarily?" he asked.

DAB lawmaker Leung

"If you don't have any initiative to motivate people to receive jabs, it may end up like your universal community testing program in September, when only one million or so people joined. It will be the end of Hong Kong, he said.

Health Secretary Sophia Chan Siu-chee said the government will carry out promotion and educational work to dispel any rumours around the safety of the vaccines.

But really, isn't it most effective way to prove the safety of the vaccines is for these senior government officials to get the jab first and see what happens?

However the government doesn't seem to want to go down that route. 

At the same health services panel, government adviser and respiratory medicine expert David Hui Shu-cheong said he expects the Phase III clinical trial results of the Sinovac vaccine will be out next Wednesday.

In meantime the stalemate continues.

Life No Longer a Bowl of Cherries in China

Last year when Chilean cherries were on sale in China, it was "cherry freedom"

Last March I wrote about "cherry freedom", where people boasted on social media how they could afford expensive foods to show off their wealth. It started with imported cherries, and then a vegetable called xiangchun that cost 80 yuan to 100 yuan for 500 grams, which equated to a lobster, 10 abalone, or 39 crayfish.

But it looks like those "cherry freedom" days are over following the coronavirus pandemic that has made a huge dent in the Chinese economy, let alone the entire world.

Previously there was a big demand for Chilean cherries and Peruvian avocados by the Chinese middle class. But now sellers at the Jiangan wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Guangzhou are feeling the effects of battered consumer confidence due to declining job prospects and incomes.

These were the first batch of Peruvian avocados sold in China

"Demand has plummeted since the outbreak started. Retailers are very cautious about placing orders... most of us have been losing money, whether selling imported fruit or domestic fruit," said Li Xiaoqiang, a fruit importer at Jiangan market.

"We keep reducing the prices. Take Chilean grapes. The wholesale price used to be 180 yuan (US$25.37) for 8kg, and it is now just 100 yuan or even 80 yuan. Our importers' losses could be up to 800,000 yuan for a container."

Egyptian oranges used to be 100 yuan for 15kg around the same time last year, but now are only 70 yuan.

"Imported cherries are even harder to sell," Li added.

While the market's operators claim 80 percent of China's imported fruits first stop at Jiangan, these days vendors are passing the time playing games on their phones.

80 percent of China's imported fruits go to Jiangan Market

One merchant surnamed Wang said last year the market used to sell 60 to 80 containers of imported oranges a day, but now only sell 15 containers with the price slashed to 50 percent.

"Imported oranges are mainly for hotels, restaurants, clubs and karaoke lounges -- if oranges don't sell well, it means China's service industry is still in deep trouble," Wang said.

Over the past decade China's fruit imports had been steadily rising from US$1.63 billion in 2009 to US$10.3 billion last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Patricia Lin is a white-collar worker in Shanghai and had her pay cut last month, while friends were laid off due to the pandemic. "To be honest, the only thing in my head these days is how to cut spending and save enough money to pay my home mortgage.

"Fruits are good and necessary for health, but I think I won't be able to afford imported cherries or Japanese grapes for a long while. Instead I will turn to local fruits like apples and pears," she said.

How will Li steer China's economy out of the pandemic?

Imagine how many millions of other people have the same thinking as Lin and then you have a serious cascade effect on not only the fruit business, but every other sector as well, particularly luxury, fashion, and restaurants.

Beijing may have hoped people getting back to work would help get things back to normal, but it won't be like before. Wonder if this will be reflected in Premier Li Keqiang's work report later this week when the "two sessions" start on May 22, and what the country's economic road map to economic recovery will be.