Last week, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government barred seven doctors from administering COVID-19 vaccinations as they were accused of issuing false vaccination-exemption certificates for patients without checking their medical conditions or histories. Six doctors have so far been arrested by the police.
According to reports, nearly 30,000 false certificates had been issued to those wishing to circumvent the vaccine program by obtaining an exemption pass to allow free movement across the city, as many indoor venues require proof of vaccination before entry.
The incident came to light in May during a TV interview in which a Yuen Long resident drew attention to long queues outside a private clinic on Castle Peak Road. This prompted a police investigation, and by early September, more incidents of doctors being accused of issuing false certificates were exposed.
It was revealed that over a seven-month period, these doctors issued between 50 and 200 certificates a day. When I heard this news story, I initially felt ashamed of these suspected colleagues who had the gall to commit such a blatant act of fraud, particularly one that compromises the health of the general populace. But as a popular Chinese saying goes: “Every large tree has withered branches”, or, every profession or group has a few black sheep.
While there are very few who are exempt from vaccinations because of contraindications, such exemptions are extremely rare. For example, there are rare instances of severe allergic reactions to CoronaVac; some have even suffered severe neurological conditions such as Guillain-Barre syndrome. There have also been recorded cases of hypersensitivity to Comirnaty and BioNTech in which anaphylaxis has occurred in 5 out of every 1 million doses.
These cases require doctors to thoroughly examine a patient’s medical condition and history, which require rigorous physical examinations. Some patients may need further investigations that take several weeks to complete, and even then, it is not a guarantee that a patient will be eligible for exemption.
However, the accused doctors spent as little as three to seven minutes with each patient before issuing a false certificate. And coupled with the fact that vaccination exemptions are rarely granted — let alone 30,000 times — all signs point to medical malpractice and fraudulent behavior.
While these cases are still under investigation, I cannot help but cast my mind back to past cases of doctors colluding with patients who attempted to file false insurance claims.
Although I do not condone this particular — or, for that matter, any type of — fraudulent behavior, at least in cases of false insurance claims, the damage inflicted is monetary and it is usually the insurance company that suffers the monetary loss. But in this case of false vaccination-exemption certificates, these doctors allowed tens of thousands of patients (if not more) to compromise the city’s overall health and immunity. And perhaps even more alarming, it means that about 30,000 people had been entering venues with suspicious false certificates and allowed COVID-19 to continue spreading within our community.
For nearly three years, many Hong Kong residents have gone to great lengths to fight this virus. Some have endured extended periods of separation from loved ones due to lockdowns; some have suffered great financial losses or lost their jobs; and many have made sacrifices for the sake of the greater good.
An integral part of the “greater good” is receiving all the required vaccines and contributing to the effectiveness of our community’s overall immunity. If we can increase Hong Kong’s vaccination rate to 90 percent, we can finally ax the stringent anti-COVID-19 measures and open up the city like many other places.
Even though vaccines are not 100 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 infections, they are still among the most effective weapons to have in your arsenal as they greatly reduce your chances of developing severe diseases if you contract the virus.
But when we have false vaccination-exemption certificates numbering upward of 30,000, it not only undermines the effectiveness of our overall immunity and our defense against the virus, but also undermines our reputation and what the civic-minded majority have done to keep others safe.
Even with the government taking action against those accused doctors, it has still allowed a “grace period” for false-certificate holders that expires on Oct 12. However, it is unclear what these false-certificate holders will do in the meantime, or if they will be required to gain a genuine vaccine-exemption certificate.
If it was known that counterfeit banknotes were in circulation, would the government allow a “grace period” for this fake money to remain in our economy? I remain puzzled as to the logic behind the government’s decision to allow tens of thousands of these unvaccinated suspicious false-exemption certificate holders to remain hidden in our city.
The government’s handling of the matter also raises the question of why this large-scale fraud was not addressed sooner, as it was made apparent five months ago on public television. We can only hope that the proper authorities and our Police Force will carry on with their investigations and bring all wrongdoers to justice.
Aside from charging the accused doctors for forgery and access to a computer with criminal intent, it is also vital to determine whether there were any instances of bribery on the part of the patient to the doctor. If this did happen, then it would be a case for the Independent Commission Against Corruption. It would also mean that the patients who offered bribes would be punished by law.
But what also lies at the heart of the matter is the flagrant ethics violation. Traditional Chinese education places great emphasis on social conduct and other such tenets. But the most valued tenet is morality; and in light of this scandal, I would say that morality is in short supply these days.
Chinese culture also places extra responsibility on those who teach, as they are the ones who set an example of what it means to be moral apart from teaching professional knowledge. And if this is what it means to be moral, then there is a moral shortfall that needs to be addressed within our medical circles and even the public at large.
The author is president of think tank, Wisdom Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.