A brand-new apartment. Paid leave. A private party on a commercial plane.
Incentives to get vaccinated against Co-19 are multiplying in Hong Kong, from the government as well as businesses eager to begin their recovery.
But the Chinese territory, which has largely kept the coronavirus under control, is now struggling with a sluggish inoculation campaign that officials worry could leave it vulnerable to an outbreak like the one currently faced by Taiwan, another one of the pandemic’s early success stories.
Experts warn that the incentives in Hong Kong may do little to allay the anxiety and confusion underlying people’s vaccine hesitancy, and that other solutions are urgently needed before Hong Kong faces a “fifth wave” of infections.
While other parts of Asia, like India and the Philippines, face dire vaccine shortages, Hong Kong has secured enough doses for its population of 7.5 million. Vaccination is free, but not compulsory, to everyone 16 and older, and on Thursday the health secretary approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children as young as 12.
