Vaccination nation

Hong Kong is bracing for a flood of concerned parents from mainland China coming to the city for vaccinations.

A scandal over faulty vaccines has shocked and angered China, but Kang Zhiwei has no time to feel emotional. For Kang and his Hong Kong-based medical service agency Waikong Health, it’s all hands on deck.

In less than two days, Waikong has received nearly 30,000 inquiries, mostly from Chinese parents who are looking for ways to vaccinate their children in Hong Kong, where supplies of imported drugs are more stable.

“These parents are not just anxious about vaccine safety,” Kang told Inkstone. “They are also worried about a shortage of supplies as the country moves to tighten regulations for vaccine makers.”

Even though Hong Kong is a Chinese city, it is also semi-autonomous. That means its healthcare system – including the sourcing, approval and provision of vaccines – is regulated locally. Unlike mainland China, Hong Kong has rarely, if ever, had any vaccine scandals.

After the last major Chinese vaccine controversy in 2016, the Hong Kong government restricted the number of non-locals who were allowed to pay out-of-pocket to access the public vaccination program, which is free for Hong Kong residents, to 120 per month.

But an increasing number of medical service agencies are eyeing the market for connecting mainland Chinese with Hong Kong’s private health providers, which offer a wide range of imported vaccines, from HPV to flu.

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