The government’s policy of excluding asylum-seekers from its covid vaccination scheme is unfair, short-sighted and dangerous.

There are about 8,000 asylum-seekers (or non-refoulement claimants as the government calls them) living here in Hong Kong. Many are forced to share cramped rooms in sub-divided flats, often in areas that have seen outbreaks of covid infections such as Sham Shui Po and Yau Ma Tei. Why should these already marginalized and at-risk people be denied vaccines? It’s unjust to the point of being inhumane.

But it’s not just about gross unfairness. The point of the worldwide vaccination effort isn’t just to protect the individuals who receive shots: it is to achieve herd immunity. An inoculated person is far less likely to transmit the virus to someone else. By excluding asylum-seekers the government is creating a reservoir of potential infections and putting Hong Kong residents at increased risk.

And then there’s the financial cost. It’s far cheaper to vaccinate someone than have to look after them in hospital – especially if it involves a two- or three-week stay in isolation or intensive care wards.

I have written to the Civil Service Bureau, which is in charge of the vaccination program, asking for an explanation of the policy to exclude asylum seekers. I pointed out the key issues I have mentioned – unfairness, the need for herd immunity and the huge cost of hospital treatment compared to vaccination, but so far have not received a reply.

The fight against covid-19 is far from over, and vaccination is obviously the key to winning. Worldwide more than 2.7 million people have died from the virus, while there have been over 120 million infections.

Here in Hong Kong we have gotten off remarkably lightly, with only just over 200 deaths and about 11,400 confirmed infections. This is probably because of people’s experience from the SARS outbreak in 2003 and 2004, and the vigorous test-and-trace scheme being carried out by health workers.

But the risks being undermined if we bar any segment of society from getting vaccinations – and that must surely include the 8,000 asylum-seekers.

The argument that Hong Kong citizens should have priority also makes little sense. The uptake rate for covid inoculations here has been low; so far only around 5 per cent of the population have received jabs. This is probably due to mistrust of the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine and complacency because of the relatively few number of infections here.

As a result the administration has been exhorting people to get shots. And there’s no shortage of doses: last week the Chief Executive Carrie Lam said: “When many places all over the world are scrambling for vaccines, we have a pretty assured supply.”

There is simply no good reason to exclude asylum-seekers from our vaccination program. To do so is both immoral and illogical.

(Alex Price is a journalist who has lived and worked in Hong Kong for over 30 years.)

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