The Hong Kong Doctors Union warned that the city’s Covid-19 booster programme is losing momentum, citing low uptake among older adults and high-risk groups and limited access to vaccines in the community. According to the latest statistics from the Centre for Health Protection, only 717 Covid-19 booster doses were administered last month. Over the past 12 months, a total of 47,828 Covid-19 vaccines were administered in Hong Kong, said Ivan Hung, chair of infectious diseases and vaccinology in the department of medicine at the University of Hong Kong. Of these, 46,119 went to people aged 50 or above. Based on a population of about 3.62 million in that age range, the doses equate to only about 1.27 percent – reflecting a low vaccination rate among older adults. A questionnaire by the union found that 79 percent of the 300 doctors surveyed considered vaccination among older adults unsatisfactory. Nearly 40 percent said they did not proactively remind patients about Covid-19 jabs, while almost 60 percent of these doctors cited not having vaccines on hand. Hung warned that Hong Kong has annual Covid-19 seasonality and that the disease should not be taken lightly. "We expect the next surge to happen in probably a year's time, and when the antibodies...
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