People get free rice after vaccination at mall

In yet another bid to boost Hong Kong’s vaccination rate, people on Thursday got a free bag of rice when they took their Covid-19 jabs at Lok Fu Plaza under the government’s outreach programme.

The initiative was jointly organised by the government and Link REIT which owns the shopping mall.

There appeared to be a strong response, with the vaccination quota snapped up in less than half an hour after the event started at 10am.

A form five student, Ramona, said the inoculation drive offered convenience to elderly residents in the area.

“Many elderly people live in Lok Fu and Wong Tai Sin, and they may think it’s a good gift,” she said.

But a retiree, surnamed Lai, said the free gift was not a big incentive.

“It’s only one kilo of rice. How long would it last? It’s not very expensive,” he said.

Another man complained about the arrangement as he tried to take the walk-in jab. There was a queue already when he got here, and he came away without the jab or the rice.

“They should have reserved more quota. The arrangement is a mess,” he said.

The Secretary for Civil Service, Patrick Nip, who’s in charge of the city’s vaccination drive, said the government would organise more outreach programmes like this in a bid to boost the inoculation rate.

He said more than 4 million people, or 62 percent of those eligible, have taken at least the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

Nip expressed hope that the vaccination rate would reach 70 percent by the end of September.

The CEO of Link REIT, George Hongchoy, said he looked forward to cooperating with the government and organising similar events in future.