Cathay Pacific continues to raise staff vaccination rate via the outreach vaccine service

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So far, 80% of the airline’s locally based air crew have been vaccinated, higher than the overall percentage amongst those of the local aviation sector.

Following drives from PwC, CLP, Hong Kong Disneyland and Sino Group, around 160 staff of Cathay Pacific have received their jabs of the BioNTech vaccine this Monday (July 19) at Cathay Pacific City through Hong Kong Government's outreach vaccination service.

So far, 80% of the airline’s locally-based air crew has been vaccinated, higher than the overall percentage amongst those of the local aviation sector, in which more than 70% of the locally based air crew members as a whole have received at least one dose of a vaccine. The rate of vaccination for locally-based pilots of the whole local aviation sector goes up to as high as 90%.

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Patrick Nip, and the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Frank Chan Fan visited Cathay Pacific City on the same day to view the vaccine administration. Nip said the aviation industry was already listed as a vaccination priority group when the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme began. He encouraged more enterprises to join hands with the government to help raise the vaccination rate and build an immune barrier in Hong Kong as soon as possible.

Chan stressed that vaccination is the most direct and effective way to help the city ride out the epidemic. He called on the aviation community to get vaccinated as soon as possible to contribute towards the recovery of the aviation industry and uphold Hong Kong's status as an international aviation hub.

In May, Cathay Pacific sent an internal memo to pilots and cabin crew hinting that the airline won't be able to arrange flying schedules for those who do not get vaccinated, which sparked heated debate. Meanwhile, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) also announced that, starting from 1 August 2021, all airport staff is required to be fully vaccinated or present proof of negative test result at the time before entering the airport restricted area.

Hong Kong has recently identified several imported COVID-19 cases involving the Delta mutant strain related to those working at the Hong Kong International Airport, including a 27-year-old male airline ground crew staff member and a 50-year-old man worked as a porter at the apron.

Photo / GovHK [The Secretary for the Civil Service, Patrick Nip (first left), and the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Frank Chan Fan (first right)]