700,000 Hongkongers not ready for next phase of vaccine pass arriving in June

According to HKU professor Ho Pak-leung, despite a regulation requiring residents to have the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of the month in order to gain entrance to most events, 700,000 citizens have yet to receive their third dose.

Under the third phase of the vaccine pass scheme, residents aged 12 and up would be required to have their third vaccine if it had been six months after their second dosage.

Those who had received their second or third vaccine before Covid's introduction, or who had been infected within the previous six months, will be excused from the agreement. Those who had received their second doses in the preceding six months would also be considered.

In a radio appearance on Thursday morning, the health expert stated that once the scheme's third phase kicks in, there will be no grace period for people to get the third dose of the Covid vaccine.

"People will be instantly barred from venues like restaurants and theatres," Ho said, adding that the restriction will go into force on June 13 at the Hospital Authority's specialized outpatient clinics.

Because of the potential negative effects, residents may be unwilling to accept the third jab, he said.

However, based on international experience, the microbiologist believes that the number of people who develop side effects after taking the third dose is significantly smaller than those who receive the second.

He also recommended that healthy adults get their third vaccination as soon as possible because the first two doses' protection had started to wear out after nine months.