Junqiao Chen

Opinion | Why end of Covid-19 era must mark start of Hong Kong healthcare reform, not its end

It might be tempting to relax after the easing of Hong Kong’s anti-pandemic measures, but the flu outbreak in China shows we must remain vigilant

This is a chance to set good practices to prepare for future pandemics, strengthen our healthcare system and establish the city as a biomedical innovation hub

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Patients lie on hospital beds as they wait at a temporary makeshift treatment area outside the Caritas Medical Centre in Sham Shui Po on February 18, 2022. Hong Kong’s experience during the fifth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic showed the importance of local experts producing timely research, something that can strengthen the city’s push to be a biomedical innovation hub and inform national policymaking. Photo: AP

Junqiao Chen

Published: 8:00am, 18 Mar 2023

Hong Kong has finally stepped into the post-Covid-19 era. To honour those who suffered and those who fought tirelessly on the front lines, it is crucial to reflect on the lessons learned. We must scale up good practices to prepare for future pandemics, strengthen our healthcare system and establish Hong Kong’s leading position in China for biomedical innovation.

Upon learning of the outbreak of Covid-19, the Department of Health announced its Preparedness and Response Plan, which directs the stockpiling of personal protective equipment, reagents and medications. As a result, Hong Kong residents did not suffer from devastating shortages of medications, such as those experienced on the mainland.

The evidence appears to support stockpiling. In a systematic review published in 2021, researcher Constantine Vardavas and his colleagues found that stockpiling antivirals before or during a pandemic provided cost savings for society and prevented loss of life.

From 2020 to 2021, although the pandemic was largely under control in Hong Kong, its impact on people’s quality of life and society as a whole was real and severe. It became clearer to health administrators that the health service is about more than prolonging the lives of individual patients but also improving overall well-being and reducing the burden on carers and society.

The fifth wave of the pandemic hit Hong Kong in January 2022, causing a huge surge of Covid-19 cases. Leveraging Hong Kong’s unique data infrastructure, experts produced timely research to inform the public and policymakers.

Professors Gabriel Leung and Joseph Wu from the University of Hong Kong hosted a press conference on March 22 last year, during which they presented data showing the real-world effectiveness of different Covid-19 vaccines in Hong Kong. It provided strong evidence for people to get fully vaccinated.