Covid-19 | SSM director says new guidelines do not violate ‘principle of willfulness’

The new guidelines issued by the Health Bureau (SSM) which enforcing a measure requiring the vaccination of all workers or, a regular nucleic acid tests (NAT), does not violate the “principle of willfulness” and people’s choices regarding the vaccination, director of SSM Dr. Alvis Lo said yesterday at the sidelines of the press conference on the Islands Hospital operation model.
Lo explained that this principle, stated since the start of the vaccination plan by the local authorities, is safeguarded and the government is not forcing anyone to get the vaccine against their will.
“I wanted to clarify that these [guidelines] do not violate the principle of willfulness and choice of the citizens, because it is very clear in our guidelines that if the worker cannot receive the vaccine or does not wish to do so, he/she can opt by doing a NAT to replace that requirement,” Lo said.
“Both options [vaccine or NAT] are to ensure the safety of the workplace and the others so this did not violate the principle of the choice,” he added.
Nevertheless, the SSM director noted that the bureau has been notified that some entities might be misinterpreting the health guidelines.
“We did hear that different entities have had different understandings of the guidelines and stated that it is not acceptable [to only take the] NAT and that the vaccine should taken. We must clarify that this is violating the principle of willfulness.”
Lo also explained that the decision is not a restriction but a disease prevention measure.
“We are not stopping people from going to work but, instead, we want to ensure that they can have a safe workplace for them and others. These guidelines are generic and aim at the prevention of the Covid-19.”
He also noted that there are no standards to be followed in terms of timing or organization, remarking that each entity needs to implement its guidelines according to their situation.
“It can be done in a phased manner or they can establish their schedule,” he said.
To another question from the media, Dr. Tai Wa Hou, medical director of the Conde de São Januário Hospital Center and coordinator of the vaccination program, noted that the health authorities are ready and have enough capacity to respond to both an increased demand for vaccines and NAT, stating that the current capacity of vaccine inoculation is of about 10,000 per day, while NAT is of 35,000 per day.
He also cited figures regarding the active population which he considered aged between 20 and 60 years, which according to yesterday’s figures had reached a vaccination rate of 67.7%, that is, over two-thirds of the population in this age group.
According to Tai, this means that the new guidelines for vaccine or NAT will roughly apply to some 100,000 people, from which, he said to expect that a majority will opt for the vaccine.