More attractive incentives should be introduced to lure teens into getting vaccinated against Covid-19, University of Hong Kong infectious disease expert Ho Pak-leung said, such as allowing them to buy priority tickets for concerts, plays and water parks.
Ho’s statement came in the wake of authorities announcing yesterday that the walk-in jabs policy will be expanded to students aged above 12 from tomorrow.
They can head to 24 community vaccination centers where one-day tickets will be given to those presenting their student cards – with the quota restricted to 4,600 a day.
Ho expressed the concern that the extension of the walk-in jabs policy would not be very helpful in boosting the vaccination rate among teenagers.
“[The authorities] need to understand what teenagers really want. For example, vaccinated teenagers could be made VIPs for the purchase of tickets for concerts, plays and water parks,” Ho said.
David Leung Tin-ho, vice president of the Federation of Parent-Teacher Associations of the Central and Western district, told The Standard the one-day ticket arrangement would not attract many teenagers.
Leung said: “The one-day tickets could help the elderly because many of them don’t know how to register online, but students would not face such difficulties.”
Only about 45 percent of students want to get the jab despite 65 percent of parents wanting their kids to get vaccinated, Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups coordinator Hsu Siu-man said.
“Students who refused to get vaccinated were worried about the possible side effects,” Hsu said, citing the findings of its latest poll.
But Hsu said the vaccination rate among teenagers may rise after schools reopen because students would have more confidence in the jabs if they find that their friends are fine after being vaccinated.
The expansion came as Hong Kong Baptist University told students and teachers that they, as a requirement for entering campuses, must be fully vaccinated or take biweekly Covid-19 tests at their own expense from October 1.
In an e-mail sent to all students and staff, the university said it will offer financial support to students who cannot get vaccinated for medical reasons and will experience financial difficulties in affording tests.
The university in Kowloon Tong has become the third government-funded tertiary institution to slap the vaccination requirement on all staff and students, after the University of Science and Technology and Polytechnic University.
The University of Hong Kong, Chinese University and Lingnan University also have similar requirements, but they are only applicable to those living in student hostels.
Financial regulators and advisory bodies in the city also followed the government’s footsteps in adopting the “jab or pay for tests” strategy, the government said yesterday.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority adopted such a strategy early this month while the Securities and Futures Commission, the Insurance Authority, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, the Financial Reporting Council and the Financial Services Development Council are planning to do so.
Two teenagers record their readiness for the jab in a selfie taken outside a community vaccination center in Sai Ying Pun. Left: Ho Pak-leung.
