Health & Environment

The Taishan nuclear power plant in Guangdong Province has been operating safely and stably, and no abnormality in the surrounding environment has been observed, China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment said in a statement released today.   According to CNN on Monday, the US government assessed a report of a leak at the Taishan nuclear plant and that China’s nuclear safety authority was raising the acceptable limits for radiation detection outside the power plant.   The statement from the ministry said China’s National Nuclear Safety Administration did not raise the acceptable limits for radiation detection outside, and it claimed CNN’s report was misleading.    Under scrutiny was the increase of the coolant in the primary circuit reactor of plant number one during the unit’s operation. The ministry said this activity was still within the range for stable running as regulated by the technical standard of the nuclear power plant operation.   It was estimated that five fuel rod claddings were damaged. This is less than 0.01% of the total fuel rods and much lower than the maximum assumed damages in the design of the fuel assembly, the ministry added.   After attending the Legislative Council meeting today, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu told reporters that the operation of the Taishan nuclear plant is within all the requirements regarding nuclear power safety and of no indication of any effect on the environment.    Mr. Lee added that the release of information about the Taishan nuclear plant operation will be in accordance with international standards.    “So far, what we have been informed up to now is (regarding the operation of Taishan Nuclear Power Plant), there were only two incidents which are classified as zero events,” Mr. Lee said. “In other words, they do not affect in any way …

Only a quarter of unvaccinated people intend to be inoculated against the Covid-19 virus over the next six months, a survey has found. The findings have led researchers to conclude that the uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine remains low in Hong Kong, which still has a long way towards reaching herd immunity. The Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong interviewed 1,200 Cantonese or Mandarin-speaking Hong Kong residents in a telephone survey conducted between April 23 and May 8. It found that 76.1% of the respondents had not taken any jabs, and only 25.1% of them said they would make or had made reservations to be inoculated in the coming six months. Professor Paul Chan Kay-sheung, chairman of the university’s Department of Microbiology, said it was alarming that the predicted acceptance of vaccination was only 37%, which was much lower than the target required for herd immunity protection or for relaxing of containment measures required for the recovery of the economy. “Hong Kong should set a goal of vaccine coverage of at least 70% through informed, voluntary vaccination,” said Professor Chan. To achieve the target, he suggests the Government could proactively address people’s concerns over the new form of vaccines purchased by Hong Kong, the vaccine manufacturers’ track record and the country of production. According to the survey results, belief of fatal side effects after vaccination is the major reason why people do not want to be vaccinated, followed by a lack of confidence in the government’s recommendations and in the place of vaccine production, and waiting for a better vaccine. Professor Eliza Wong Lai-yi of the university’s Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care said people were hesitant about getting vaccinated because there were few reports about the effectiveness of the vaccines, but a …

Hong Kong’s 38-day streak without an untraceable Covid-19 case has ended, with a 35-year-old male policeman confirmed to have been infected today. The Centre for Health Protection said a sample of the officer’s saliva had tested positive, but the result of another test conducted after he was admitted to hospital was negative.    However, as a precautionary move, about 40 to 50 of the officer’s close contacts were being quarantined and further tests would be conducted to confirm if he was really infected, said officials. Meanwhile, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has defended the government’s warning that those who have been inoculated against the virus may not be allowed to enter restaurants or entertainment venues if another wave of infection hits Hong Kong. The idea was not meant to punish those who had not been vaccinated, but aimed at protecting public health, she said before today’s Executive Council meeting.  A high vaccination rate would give us a “vaccine barrier” if we were unfortunately hit by a fifth wave of infection, she said. If the ideal vaccination rate could be achieved by the end of August, then those measures would not be needed, she said. Heeding a call from the government, more and more companies are providing different kinds of incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated, including cash handouts, air tickets, meal coupons, theme park tickets and anti-epidemic supplies. The most eye-catching reward is a $10.8 million apartment donated by the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation, a subsidiary company of the Hong Kong Sino Group and the Chinese Estates Holdings Limited.  Lucy Lang, a university student, said the reward was attractive. “Hong Kong is known for its high housing prices. If you can get a flat, it will reduce a lot of burden on your life after graduation,” she said.  …

Mandatory masking because of the COVID-19 pandemic has discouraged some young people from smoking in public, but it has also prompted others to smoke more at home. That is what The Young Reporter found after talking to a number of young people on the World No Tobacco Day 2021 today.  Even though the theme of the United Nations initiative this year is “Commit to quit”, it appears not too many university students have made a commitment to do so. A 22-year-old university student who would only be identified as Mr Wong said he had to reduce smoking since the outbreak of the pandemic because he could not smoke on the streets, worrying that he might be caught by police for not wearing a mask. Due to the switch to online learning, he said he had few opportunities to go out and had been smoking less as he did not want to subject his family members to the risk of second-hand smoke. However, for students who live on their own, the pandemic has meant smoking more. Jia Fengyuan, a 20-year-old student who lives off-campus, said he had been smoking more because he was spending more time at home. “Usually smoking is banned on the campus, but I can switch off the camera for a while and have a cigarette when I have online classes at home,” said Jia, who added that his roommates did not mind him smoking. Another 20-year-old student from the mainland, who would only be identified by his surname of Luo, also said he had been smoking since arriving in Hong Kong during the pandemic, as he had more time staying alone indoors due to online learning and didn't need to worry about his family being affected by second-hand smoking. In his message marking the World No Tobacco …

Digital devices for home fitness may break down fitness barriers for some, but they also may exacerbate global inequalities in healthy and physical activities, according to a WHO webinar today. The fitness industry saw revenues drop 58% in the US during the pandemic, and UK gyms lost US$4.3 billion last year. Meanwhile, the market for global fitness apps grew 9.34% in 2020, according to market researcher Technavio.   “While doing exercise at home in your comfortable living room, you can build up that confidence, build up that experience,” Hugo Braam, the co-founder and CEO of Vituragym, a consumer health and fitness app, said on the webinar.  Steven Ward, chief transformation officer of the home-fitness brand Go Fit, said technology can democratize services to a broader range of society. But not everyone has access to the electronic devices needed for at-home fitness technology, Benjamin Uzokwe, a gym trainer from the UK, said on the webinar.  “I have access to a laptop or to a phone, but like a lot of children from underprivileged areas they don’t,” he said.  The fact that different media platforms among countries and regions means there is no one global fitness app, Jürgen Steinacker, professor for sports and rehabilitation medicine from University Hospital Ulm, said in the webinar. “We’re in that dilemma...digital provides such great solutions and at the same time, always is going to have that risk of excluding some people as well,” said Amanda Harding, who moderated the talk. “We need to act like a public health solution, rather than traditional fitness, in order to appeal to non-traditional fitness users to break down barriers and to become more inclusive,” Mr Ward said. The webinar is the first of a series of eight on health and fitness organized by the WHO.  

Both BioNTech and CoronaVac vaccines reduce the risk of infection from the British and South African variants, though the effectiveness is lower, the Hospital Authority said at a press conference today. The efficacy of BioNTech against the British variant is 89.5% while the one against the South African counterpart is 75%, according to Qatar research. CoronaVac, the Chinese-made vaccine also known as Sinovac, which is around 50% effective according to some tests in Brazil, is only 30% effective against the South African virus variant, said Dr Owen Tsang, the Medical Director of the Hospital Authority Infectious Disease Centre. “Sinovac is just so-so in dealing with the South African virus,”  he said, “but getting vaccinated would definitely be protective.” No data is currently available to show the effectiveness of the vaccines against the Indian variant, which has been discovered in more than 17 countries. “Since the variant is relatively new, many clinical manifestations are not clear,” said Dr Tsang. Dr Tsang also said that natural infection could prevent reinfection at 84%.  Symptoms after reinfection, such as feeling tired and breathing with difficulties, are much lighter compared to the first infection. “Those who have been infected only need one shot for further protection,” he said, “and I believe even one shot could protect most people from being infected.” Hong Kong had the first reinfection case in the world in August. The 33-year-old man was infected early in March and tested positive again after staying in Spain for a week. He recovered in five days.

A new method of delivering Chinese medicinal herbs may be useful in the treatment of a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer, researchers at Hong Kong Baptist University and Cornell University have found. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Dr Kwan Hiu-yee, an assistant professor at  Hong Kong Baptist University’s School of Chinese Medicine explained that gambogic acid, which is derived from a local plant is useful in cancer treatment. But it does not dissolve easily in water.  That limits its use in traditional Chinese medicine since most herbal treatments have to be boiled. Researchers tested two groups of mice with triple negative breast cancer cells. One using nanocarriers to deliver gambogic acid and the other without. The result showed that the weight of the tumor among the first group of mice decreased 67.6% on average after 17 days. The concentration of the drug was also three times higher two hours after delivery using nanocarriers. The new therapy also has reduced side-effects on the liver.  “Treatment of triple negative breast cancer has not been effective and is very expensive, said Prof Bian Zhaoxiang, professor in Chinese Medicine Clinical Studies at  Hong Kong Baptist University. The nanocarriers may offer hope in effective treatment in future.  But the cost for one dose of targeted therapy is between $2000 and $5000 US dollars. “The triple negative breast cancer takes up 25% among all the breast cancer,” said Prof Bian. “This new method for drug delivery with reduced side effects may help more people in future, “ Prof Bian added.