Hong Kong’s old folk remain largely unvaccinated

YIM SUET MUI, an 83-year-old Hong Konger, waited almost a year before getting a vaccination against covid-19. “If I die, I die,” was her attitude. “I am old.” Such fatalism came easily in the territory until recently because it had done well at keeping the virus out. Controlled borders, ubiquitous mask-wearing and strict quarantining meant months have sometimes passed without a locally transmitted infection. But one side-effect was the elderly not wanting (or not bothering) to be jabbed. Only 30% of over-80s and 60% of over-70s have chosen to have a first dose, compared with 86% of residents aged 12-69. (The same is true in some provinces of mainland China, where less than 30% of over-80s and less than 50% of over-70s are jabbed.)