JAKARTA - Hong Kong residents flocked to flood clinics to get vaccinated against COVID-19 ahead of reopening borders with mainland China, which some fear will bring a wave of infections to financial centers.
Centers of city governments providing vaccines produced by BioNTech in recent days have mostly been ordered, a few to February, as opposed to a few weeks ago when anyone seeking a vaccine was able to enter an almost empty facility.
"After the border opening, I expect there will be more people infected on the streets, I want to reduce the chance that I will be infected," said a Hong Kong resident surnamed Wan, who received a fourth dose this week.
The Hong Kong government announced plans to reopen its borders, continuing its restriction-free journey for the first time in more than three years, after Beijing abandoned a strict "zero-COVID" policy and announced easing its travel restrictions from January 8.
Previously, vaccine absorption in Hong Kong was slow when injections were first available in 2021, especially among the elderly, but the figure has increased over the past year and more than 83 percent of Hong Kong's population has received three doses of China's BioNTech or Sinovac vaccine according to government data.
Meanwhile, the number of people who received the fourth injection jumped more than 100 percent this week than the previous week.
Not only fear of new infections once the border reopens, but concerns that mainland visitors will take the mRNA vaccine, which could provide better protection against COVID, but is not available to Chinese residents on the mainland.
Many mainlanders ask on social media about how to get an mRNA vaccine in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government said non-residents should pay for vaccines at private clinics.
"I'm afraid it will be more difficult to get vaccinated once mainlanders start arriving," said Kevin Lam, who queued with dozens of other people, to get his fourth dose at a clinic in the city district of Quarry Bay.
Separately, a Hong Kong resident surnamed Tsoi said he was relieved to have ordered a second-generation BioNTech booster.
"I'm a bit worried that vaccinations will run out," said the 35-year-old.
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