‘Vaccine pass may have to include public transport’

Respiratory medicine expert David Hui says the government’s planned “vaccine pass” may have to cover public transport and other crowded places like malls or supermarkets, but he warned against relaxing social-distancing measures too soon.

“At present, it’s difficult to make adjustments immediately and stop trying to contain [the spread of Covid]. It’s mainly because the vaccination rate is not high enough, especially among the elderly. In addition, people who’ve been double-jabbed would see their antibody levels dropped to a low level after a few months,” he told a TVB programme on Sunday.

“If we relax it too early, the healthcare system cannot handle it. Many of the unvaccinated will experience respiratory failure. They may have to be hospitalised and even put on a ventilator. The death rate may be high,” he warned.

He noted the government is minded to introduce a “vaccine pass” system soon.

“In principle, crowded places like public transport, malls or supermarkets may have to be included from a public health viewpoint. But it would be very difficult to implemented. I think the government has to carry out some internal discussions,” he said.

The Chinese University professor said it may take up to eight weeks to contain the current wave of outbreaks.

He also said the second generation of Covid vaccines may become available in a few months, and hopefully social distancing measures could be relaxed to a greater extent by then.