When the owners of bars and nightclubs in Hong Kong met with city officials this month, they wanted to hear how the government plans to entice more resistant people to get vaccinated, and their business is only open to those who are vaccinated.

Instead, officials set a table and asked what they would do to help promote one of the slowest Covid-19 vaccinations in cities around the world.

“They just asked us if we have any ideas or plans to increase the vaccination rate,” said Liu Wei, the industry representative and chairman of the Hong Kong, Kowloon Ballroom and Nightclub Merchants Federation. He said that one-fifth of the nightclubs closed within five months of the closure, and the rest received only 10% of their normal income after reopening, which made them eager to see an increase in immunization.

Carrie Lam’s government has increasingly relied on local businesses and institutions to help people get vaccinated because her Beijing-backed government has worked hard to persuade reluctant residents in an atmosphere of distrust after widespread anti-China protests in 2019. Major companies, restaurants and even universities have begun to provide cash payments, extra vacation time, and even a chance to win a $1.4 million apartment.

Karen Grépin, an associate professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong, said: “Government officials have not been able to find a way to interact with the community to build vaccination momentum.” “This is where they falter. But from politics From a perspective, getting them to lead this challenge is indeed challenging. It doesn’t mean they should give up. They should find a way. But it means working through more trusted agents.”

More and more companies and institutions stand out. Last week, the city’s international airport announced that it would give away 60,000 tickets to people who were vaccinated before the September deadline. The Hong Kong Jockey Club, which has a racetrack and gaming facilities, provides up to three paid special holidays and provides additional insurance for employees who shoot basketball.

Even regulators are involved. According to a report in Hong Kong’s “Apple Daily” on Monday, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority urged banks to give employees two days of paid vaccination leave. The Monetary Authority declined to make specific comments on the talks and confirmed that it had made a request to promote immunization.

The Hong Kong developer Chinese Real Estate Holdings Ltd. and Sino Group’s charity Wu Tengfang Charity Foundation are also providing a brand new 10.8 million Hong Kong dollar (1.4 million US dollar) apartment for vaccinated residents.

After the apartment lottery was announced, vaccine appointments soared to the highest level in three weeks. On Saturday, about 17,700 people reserved space for BioNTech SE, and Chinese manufacturer Sinovac Biotech Ltd had another 10,500 scheduled appointments.

Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd. (Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd.), which operates Shanghai’s historic Peninsula Hotel, has provided its 1,500 Hong Kong employees with a vaccination fee of HK$2,000. If 70% of local workers can be vaccinated, then An additional HKD 2,000 is provided.

Local universities are also taking measures to encourage shooting. The Chinese University of Hong Kong requires students who stay in the dormitory to be vaccinated, otherwise they will pay their own Covid test fees every two weeks.

As the world scrambles to buy more vaccines, the Hong Kong government is in a unique position that hundreds of thousands of unused doses of mRNA vaccines developed by BioNTech SE and Pfizer will soon expire. If the vaccination rate does not rise, the city may be left behind because some other global hubs resume meetings and travel.

The government tried to make vaccines more convenient and even allowed companies to arrange on-site vaccination meetings. In mid-May, Deloitte announced that it had vaccinated 170 staff at one of the meetings.

According to Bloomberg’s “Vaccine Tracker” report, although it is one of the few places in the world that provides Covid vaccine to all adults, only 13.4% of Hong Kong residents have been fully vaccinated. This is much lower than other financial centers, including Singapore (28.3%) and London (28.6%).

The leader of Lim, who has long refused to provide residents with cash or similar incentives, said last week that her government has done its job by purchasing enough vaccines and providing them for free.

She said: “We hope that institutions or employers can provide economic incentives.” “For the government, we will focus on policy.”

Can’t survive

However, some business owners and experts believe that the government’s unwillingness to take specific measures (such as relaxing mask regulations or 14 to 21 days of travel quarantine requirements) will weaken private efforts and in some cases contradict them.

Last week, David Webb, a well-known Hong Kong investor and corporate governance activist, ridiculed the airport’s proposal to provide free flights to vaccinated people on Twitter, noting that anyone who wins the ticket still needs to be emptied. isolation. Hong Kong requires all incoming passengers to be quarantined in hotels, even if they have houses in the city.

“Is vaccinated, will I have a chance to pay for the hotel quarantine fee for 2 or 3 weeks after returning?” Weber wrote. “This state-owned enterprise has hardly provided a convincing offer.”

Due to the low vaccination rate, even people who are fully vaccinated must comply with COVID restrictions [File: Lam Yik/Bloomberg]

Around the world, these actions are increasingly being taken to restore the freedom of vaccinators. The United States and South Korea have abolished regulations on the use of outdoor masks for vaccinated people, and the European Union said it will welcome vaccinated Americans as tourists this summer without quarantine.

The Hong Kong government stated that due to the low protection rate among the population and the risk of the spread of new variants, it cannot use this incentive, even though the vaccination rate in South Korea is currently lower than that in the former British colony. On Friday, city officials said they would allow a small number of senior bankers on business trips to obtain quarantine exemptions.

“If we cannot increase the vaccination rate to 70%, I don’t think we will be able to relax significantly in terms of travel, cover-up, and all social isolation measures. We will be left behind.” Doctor Lam Ching, member of the executive committee Choi) said.

The complex relationship between Hong Kong and mainland China and the hope that Hong Kong will eliminate local transmission channels before reopening its borders vital to the economy has also driven the conservative stance of officials.

Just like the few other Covid havens in the Asia-Pacific region that brought local cases to zero, New York City has also been left behind in preventing all risks of infection, especially as other economies accept the Covid-19 epidemic before continuing. Row.

What is frustrating is that they say that although adequate vaccination has been carried out, they are still subject to excessively harsh restrictions. For others who have not yet made the move, the lack of easing policies raises questions about why they should bother.

Qin Zhenrong, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association Member Association, said: “You can’t survive like this with zero business.” “No one will get vaccinated just for drinking.”