Health & Environment

From 9 am this morning, people aged between 12 and 17 years old can book for a Sinovac Covid vaccine through the Centre for Health Protection website. They need to bring along their identity documents, consent form signed by their parents or guardians and present the SMS message or the photocopy of booking confirmation at government vaccination centres. They can also get the vaccination through schools,, from private doctors or clinics, Community Vaccination Centres and the Student Health Services Centres of the Department of Health.   Secondary student, Clayton Chan who was vaccinated today said he was only doing so because of a swimming competition. “I will not receive the Sinovac vaccination unless there is a strong reason such as participating in an overseas competition as I am afraid of the side effects of the vaccination such as fever and the swelling of the injection site,” Clayton said. His mother, Carrie Chan, was willing to let her son get Sinovac because she too has had the jab.  “I only had mild side effects such as being tired and having a headache after receiving the Sinovac vaccination”, said Ms. Chan. She  believed Sinovac will be safe for those aged 3-17 years because many teenagers  were among more than 100 million people who got vaccinated in mainland China and there is no major safety concern. “It shows that there has been sufficient scientific research to prove its safety and protection,” Ms. Chan said. “It is expected that after the launch of the Sinovac vaccination, the vaccination rate among secondary school students will be increased to over 80%, which will help the secondary schools to resume full time face-to-face lessons,” said Professor Lau Yu-lung, chairman of the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases in an RTHK programme on Nov. 20.  Schools can resume full-day …

The United Kingdom Government announced that they would be recognizing the World Health Organization’s list of emergency-use COVID-19 vaccines, including China’s SinoVac and Sinopharm, starting from today (22 November).  Apart from the two newly added vaccines, others such as Pifzer (also named BioNtech), Covishield,  AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson, and Covaxin are all on the list. Individuals who are vaccinated with the above vaccines will be allowed to visit the United Kingdom (UK) without a proof of negative results from COVID-19 testing, and are free from quarantine after arrival. Only one screening test is required after the day they arrive.  According to the UK Health Security Agency (HSA), 40,941 infections and 150 deaths were recorded on 20 November. The data released last week also shows the infections among school pupils aged between 10-19 increased from 571.7 cases per 100,000 students on 7 November to 694.2 cases to 14 November.  England also announced simplification on immigration procedures in early November. Individuals who are under 18 will be considered as fully vaccinated, they would not be subjected to mandatory pre-departure screening and quarantine upon their visits to the UK, but only one post-arrival test. Regarding the relaxation of travel restrictions, the UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps stated that, “as we continue to recover from the pandemic and expand our recognition of international vaccines, today's announcements mark the next step in our restart of international travel.” Wong Lok-sze, a year 3 student studying in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who is going to the UK for an exchange next month, said  “it is actually more convenient for me because I don't have to quarantine either.” “But I would also be worried about other people who do not need to be quarantined, and I would prefer to have a quarantine policy,” she added.  Wong is …

The longest partial lunar eclipse since the 15th century took place today, according to Indiana’s Holcomb Observatory. The partial lunar eclipse began at 3:19 pm and ended at 6:47 pm, lasting for three hours and 28 minutes, according to NASA. It marked the longest partial lunar eclipse in 581 years. The last partial lunar eclipse that stretched longer happened on Feb. 18, 1440. In Hong Kong, the partial eclipse was visible during moonrise from 5:38 pm and ended at 6:47 pm, according to the Hong Kong Space Museum. The Hong Kong Space Museum said that a partial lunar eclipse is divided into five stages. Only the two stages, “Moon exits umbra” and “Moon exits penumbra” were visible in Hong Kong during the time of the eclipse. Unfortunately for people who gathered for this rare celestial event, the eclipse was barely visible. The Museum said that people would not be able to clearly see the partial lunar eclipse since the moon was at a low altitude and the sky was not completely dark while the eclipse was in progress, “We cannot see the whole partial eclipse process this time” Chan Chun-lam, the assistant curator of Hong Kong Space Museum said. When the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon align, the Moon enters the Earth's shadow, resulting in a lunar eclipse including penumbral eclipse, partial eclipse and total eclipse, depending on how the Moon comes in contact with the Earth's shadow, according to Hong Kong Observatory. “During the partial lunar eclipse, the moon is not completely obscured by the umbra, the dark and inner shadow of the Earth. So only the eclipsed part turns black, the rest of the moon is only slightly darkened,” Chan said. The next time the Earth will see a partial lunar eclipse as lengthy as today’s will …

A man whose face was partially paralized after receiving the second BioNTech vaccine on August 31 was denied compensation because his case was not reported to the Department of Health, he said in a press conference. The man, who goes by the alias Mr Y, was rushed to the Princess Margaret Hospital on Sept 2. and was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy. He applied to insurance company AXA Hong Kong on Sept 9 under the government’s compensation plan for those adversely affected by the vaccine. But his application was denied since the hospital did not report his case to the Department of Health. The man said the hospital told him it will report his case after approval, but it has not been done yet. Democratic Party health policy spokesperson, Ramon Yuen Hoi-man, worried that the number of adverse post-vaccination cases is understated. “Does it mean that there are many cases like Mr Y that have not been reported?” Yuen said. “It’s impossible for the public to verify that, while the number of residual vaccine symptoms is very likely to be underestimated.” Yuen said the Department of Health should actively encourage medical staff to report serious cases involving vaccines and provide the public access to reports. "When encouraging citizens to vaccinate, the authorities should also protect people’s personal rights, like the right to know and the right to make decisions," Yuen said Health authorities in Hong Kong have confirmed 288 cases of Bell’s palsy after vaccination. Most patients will recover from facial paralysis even without treatment. As of end September, the Department of Health received a total of 6,108 reports of serious adverse events of Covid vaccine in people aged from 12 to 87. A total of HK$5.19 million has been given out with an average of HK$113,000 for each approved case.

When Lau Kai Ching decided to come to Hong Kong from Malaysia, she found she had limited options in choosing a quarantine hotel. “I found that there were few designated hotels and most of them were full, especially those which were highly recommended by users on social media,” she said. “So I had to choose one called Ramada Harbour View.” Once she arrived in September, things were not what she expected. “The most bothersome thing is that, in the toilet, the pipe doesn’t work very well and the water gets clogged very quickly. I asked some people to fix it but the staff from the hotel said that they had no permission to enter the room of the traveller who was in quarantine,” she said.  Lau said she wanted to change rooms but it required permission from the Department of Health. “Then I made a phone call to the department and the operator told me he had received the report and would arrange it as soon as possible,” she said. She said she received no reply after that. “Fortunately, after three days, the blockage of the water pipe eased a little. It could barely work but the water flow was so slow that it took a long time to wash,” she said. In Hong Kong, all inbound arrivals from outside of mainland China and Macau are required to quarantine in government-designated hotels that must be booked before boarding the plane.  In September, 92,398 people arrived in Hong Kong, ccording to the website of the immigration department. Those from “high-risk” countries, such as the US, the UK and much of Europe, are required to undergo a 21-day quarantine and should be vaccinated.  They are also required to undergo six compulsory tests during the period followed by a week of self-monitoring. Currently, …