Jabs Wars

"There appears to be public resistance developing to vaccines, with many factors at play."

The UK has good reason to celebrate. Vaccination rates for the over 70s are approaching 100%. Plus, some 50% of the adult population received a jab. That's a remarkable achievement that goes some way to offset the earlier cack-handed response that let Covid-19 rip through the community. Some experts believe the UK may achieve herd immunity next week. That's after 127,284 deaths (as of 10 April 2021) from 4.4 million cases. 

By all accounts, the execution of the vaccine rollout proceeded with flawless precision. The British vaccine success story needs recognition, so we must give kudos to everyone who made this happen. Well done!

Meanwhile, in Europe, their vaccination campaign is stuttering along, marked by blunders, mismanagement and political shenanigans. Less than 15% of the adult population of France, Germany, Italy and Spain have received a jab. In frustration at evident failings, the EU lashed out like a petulant child. 

Faced with a shortage of vaccines, they blocked a shipment of a quarter of a million jabs to Australia. And then, in a reckless move, threatened the UK with the same treatment. 

The floundering head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, soon rolled back her threats. Why? Because the UK would be fully justified in withholding the raw materials that make vaccine production possible. The lipids required to coat the vaccines come from God's county, Yorkshire. Stand up Croda Chemicals of Snaith and take a bow.

None of this clumsy EU diplomacy or mismanagement should come as a surprise. Frau von der Leyen is well-remembered in her native Germany for her stunning impact on the German army. With millions wasted on procurement, units deployed without secure communication systems. In the most embarrassing incident, soldiers carried broomsticks as stand-ins for rifles that the government could not supply. Having failed in Germany, then dispatched to the EU, her incompetence spread beyond a national boundary. One German leader noted that "Ursula is our least capable minister". 

As Europe goes back into lock-down due to the resurgence of Covid-19, the UK is moving to open up. The EU will pay a high political and economic price for its shambolic handling of the vaccine programme. Even remainers, like myself, must now recognise the inherent failures of the EU.

Here in Hong Kong, the Pfizer vaccine is now back online as the government seeks to catch up with delayed vaccinations. As I suspected, the packaging issue that caused the delay was not a safety concern. Nonetheless, given the sentiments here, the wait was a wise precaution, although it may have further dampened vaccine uptake.

Hong Kong has issued about 791,300 vaccine doses, with some 232,500 people getting their second dose. That's for a population of 7.8 million. The pace needs to pick up. To date, we've recorded 11,569 Covid-19 cases that resulted in 207 deaths. 

Worryingly, there appears to be public resistance developing to vaccines, with many factors at play. The city continues to function, adapting well to the restrictions, which may suppress vaccine take-up rates. Some of that reluctance comes from our low number of cases. Also, our track and trace system operates with ruthless efficiency. Thus people assume the pandemic is over, so why bother to take the risk of a vaccine. 

I should point out that the Hong Kong people are a hypersensitive lot, especially when it comes to health. The collective memory of SARS 2003 is still very much alive. That imprint from the past served us well during the pandemic's initial stages, as everyone rushed to take precautions without prompting from the government. Within a matter of days, people adopted mask-wearing and other safeguards.

And yet, this is a double-edged sword. Any sign that a vaccine may cause a bad reaction or worse is bound to set off a ripple effect of anxiety. Each time this kicks off another round of 'should I get vaccinated and which vaccine?'—anything to delay a decision.

The media fulfils its usual role of exciting matters out of all proportion by failing to give much context or nuance. The headlines scream, "Man died 12 days after jab". That he was 82 years old, had a severe heart problem, high blood pressure, and one lung lay buried (no pun intended) in the coverage detail. Words of wisdom Nos 1: Life is full of risks; take your pick. 

Then layered atop this is a hysteria with a political dimension. Anti-China elements are suggesting that the Sinovac shot is a mind-control drug. This lunatic fringe asserts that immunisation is to pacify and control the population. How exactly this works is never explained. 

I recently had the good fortune to listen to a panel discussion by a group of leading US doctors. They sought to discuss the merits of the various vaccines available, including Sinovac. Their medical message was clear; take whatever vaccine you can because any jab's impact is significantly less than catching Covid-19. There was agreement that all the currently available vaccines show reliable degrees of efficacy against the virus. 

Further, most experts agree that comparisons about effectiveness rates are pointless. The different regimes of testing make these unconvincing. Such details complicate the narrative, so these get left out of the media tail of woe and doom. 

Anyone can co-opt the immunisation issue and harness it to their agenda. Sure, it was only a matter of time before Greta Thunberg would get her climate change knickers in a twist over the vaccine rollout. "With the extremely inequitable vaccine distribution, I will not attend the COP26 conference if the development continues as it is now," Thunberg said. 

Is she seriously suggesting that nations should hold off vaccinating until we are ready to vaccinate everyone? I've often felt Ms Thunberg's understanding of issues is shallow; she's affirmed that view. Does she want folks to die while vaccines linger in storage until we have enough stock? Words of wisdom Nos 2: Life isn't fair. Get over it, Ms Thunberg. 

Nations need to get their own house in order and then move to help their neighbours. That's the proper, humane option. Thankfully we still have some adults in the room. Dr Micheal Ryan, executive director of the WHO, noted, "If you need to be right before you move, you will never win. Perfection is the enemy of the good when it comes to emergency management." 

In the meantime, Ms Thunberg should stick to her speciality of dropping classes, while riding around on expensive carbon-fibre boats as the intellectually challenged gobshite preeminence. 

This web ​site provides graphics that illustrate the Covid performance across many dimensions. It's well worth a look. In the meantime, get your jabs.