A sluggish vaccination rate may slow down Hong Kong's recovery, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po cautions, even as he expects significant economic improvement this year.
The rate in Hong Kong is only 10 percent - compared to the 40 percent in the United States and Britain - Chan said on his blog yesterday.
Israel has the best rate in the world, with five million inoculations since Thursday.
With the outbreak easing and businesses recovering, Chan expects a significant comeback in GDP for the first quarter after six consecutive quarters of negative growth.
He said local exports had performed well over the four months from November - surging 37.5 percent between January and February. Chan expected similar strong figures for March.
But he said Hong Kong lagging behind in its vaccination rate may put it in a "relatively restrictive" position and drag the city's economic recovery if overseas markets resume international travel.
"Currently, European countries and the US are making good progress in inoculation. They are already actively planning to resume international travel," Chan said.
He encouraged the public to take the jabs, adding social distancing measures could only be relaxed if a large proportion of people have been vaccinated. The relaxation would also allow the economy to bounce back quicker and improve the labor market.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said the city's labor market is improving, with the first quarter's unemployment rate at 6.8 percent, down 0.4 percent from the fourth quarter. That means around 260,000 people were jobless as of end-March - 1,800 less compared to December 2020.
The number of people who applied for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme skyrocketed from 12,589 at the end of January to 19,810 at the end of March - the highest since mid-2014.
Cheung said the government is hopeful that the consumption and business sentiment would return to normal if the pandemic remained under control. He also urged people to get vaccinated.
"The government will continue to provide more facilitative measures to those who have received the jabs, including visiting hospitals and care homes more conveniently, having meals with families and friends at restaurants as well as the travel bubble," Cheung said.
Since Friday, those aged 16 to 29 can book BioNTech jabs at 24 centers or Sinovac vaccines at five centers, 18 Hospital Authority clinics or from private doctors.
The extension of the program means it now covers 88 percent of the 7.5 million population.
Many remain hesitant to receive the shots due to reports of death after vaccination.
Hong Kong has recorded 23 deaths post-inoculation - 19 received Sinovac while four had taken BioNTech. Experts have not established any direct link between the fatalities and the vaccines.
carine.chow@singtaonewscorp.com
