Heart attack likely killed patient who had Sinovac jab, experts say

By Daisy CL Mandap

The experts panel said there was no link between the Covid-19 jab and the man's death

A panel of experts says a 63-year-old man who died two days after taking the Sinovac vaccine likely had a fatal heart attack.

A co-convenor of the Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment of Covid-19 said they were unanimous in their view that the patient’s death on Sunday was not linked to his vaccination.

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“The expert panel takes a unanimous view that there is no direct link between the vaccination and the patient’s death,” Professor Ivan Hung told a press conference today, Mar. 3.

The panel held an emergency meeting earlier to assess the case, which emerged only on Tuesday night.

“The most likely cause of death is the patient’s coronary disease, leading to a heart attack and pulmonary edema, resulting in a deterioration of his breathing and then, death.”

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Hung said the experts reached this conclusion after going through the patient’s available records, including preliminary results of a post-mortem examination.

He noted that the deceased suffered from multiple and long-term illnesses, including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and suspected heart disease. He was also a heavy smoker.

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The post mortem reportedly showed the deceased had severe blockages in three coronary arteries, but a more detailed report will not be available for another week or two.

Hung said the patient had multiple long-term illnesses such as diabetes and suspected heart disease  

Hung said the vaccination program will continue, and urged all elderly people and others in high-risk groups to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

But he said those with underlying illnesses should first consult their doctors.

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His call came as online bookings for coronavirus jabs from Pfizer/BioNTech opened a few minutes after the indicated time of 9am, due to a slight glitch.

Most of those who managed to secure bookings over the next two weeks reported an easy time, with some saying it took only between 5 to 10 minutes to get a slot.

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The initial booking phase will run until Mar 28, but should quickly resume, as the second batch of about half a million doses of the US-German vaccine is expected to arrive in the next several days. A million doses of Sinovac arrived earlier.

Seven centers across Hong Kong – in Sai Ying Pun, Sai Wan Ho, Kowloon Tong, Kwun Tong, Lai Chi Kok, Yuen Long and Sheung Shui – will provide the BioNTech vaccine, which has a high efficacy rating of 95%.

Currently, only those in the priority groups, including residents aged 60 and above, frontline and health care workers, residents and staff in care homes, and cross-border transport workers and personnel, can book for the jabs.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Health Protection reported 14 new coronavirus cases, all of them locally acquired.

Eight are of unknown sources. They include a 23-year-old woman working in marketing, a 53-year-old dishwasher, a 34-year-old man who manages elderly care homes, a  53-year-old secretary, a salesperson, two housewives and a retiree.

The cases brought Hong Kong’s total pandemic toll to 11,046.

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Filipino HIV cases double while overall tally in HK dips

By Vir B. Lumicao

HIV cases among Filipinos nearly doubled last year

Filipino human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases in Hong Kong rose to 27 last year, almost twice as many as in 2019, a Department of Health spokesman said in response to a query from The SUN.

The surge was mainly due to the doubling of cases involving women, of which 16 were recorded last year.

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The trend ran counter to a significant drop in the total HIV cases in Hong Kong. The overall tally of 505 was significantly lower than the 565 cases recorded in 2019.

Among Filipinos, 21 cases were due to heterosexual contact while four arose from homosexual contact. The transmission route for two others is yet to be determined due to incomplete details from the notifications.

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The spokesman reminded the Filipinos to use condoms to protect themselves during sex.

“Sexual transmission remained the major route of HIV transmission among recorded Filipino cases. Using condoms consistently and properly can reduce the risk of acquiring HIV and other sexually transmitted infections,” he said. 

Filipino HIV cases in HK, 2020
Year	Male	Female	Total
2020	11	16	27
2019	6	8	14

The CHP also said that overall, the concentration of infection among male homosexuals or gays is alarming.  

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“Despite a decrease in the number of reports of HIV infection in recent years when compared to the peak in 2015, a concentrated epidemic among vulnerable groups, such as young men who have sex with men, warrants our sustained attention,” said Dr Ho Chi-hin, acting consultant at CHP.

Ho sounds out alarm on rise in HIV infections among gays

Of last year’s reported HIV cases that involved 418 men and 87 women, 272 got infected via homosexual or bisexual sex, 137 via heterosexual sex and two via drug injection. The transmission routes of 94 others have yet to be verified due to incomplete information. 

“Sexual transmission remained the major mode of HIV transmission. Members of the public should use condoms consistently and properly so as to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV,” said Ho.

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Ho spoke at a press conference held Monday to give an update on the HIV/AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) situation in Hong Kong.

“Members of the public with a history of unsafe sex should take an HIV antibody test early. They can call the DH’s AIDS Hotline (2780 2211) for a free, anonymous and confidential HIV test. HIV-positive people should seek specialist care as soon as possible,” Ho said.    

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He said the public may visit the DH’s Virtual AIDS Office (www.aids.gov.hk), the Red Ribbon Centre (www.rrc.gov.hk), the AIDS Hotline website (www.27802211.com) and the Gay Men HIV Information website (www.21171069.gov.hk) for more information. 

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Man dies 2 days after receiving Sinovac vaccine

By The SUN

The patient died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Sunday

A 63-year-old man is reported to have died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Sunday, two days after receiving the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine at a government vaccination center in Jordan.

The Department of Health said in a statement posted late today, Mar 2, that it had just been informed of the death, but did not explain the delay.

A spokesman said officials immediately contacted the Hospital Authority to get more information about the death as part of their investigaton.

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But he stressed it was too early to say whether the man’s death was related to the vaccine that he received.

“At the moment, the causal relationship with the vaccine cannot be ascertained,” said the spokesman.

The patient was among the first to get the Sinovac jab on Friday

The statement said the patient was vaccinated at Kwun Chung Sports Centre on Friday last week, the first day of the citywide mass vaccination.

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On Sunday, he developed acute breathing difficulties and went on his own to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he died later that day.

Some media reports said the man suffered cardiac arrest shortly after being admitted and died after resuscitation attempts failed.

They also said the man suffered from chronic illnesses so hospital staff did immediately link his death to his having had a vaccine.

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A panel of experts on Covid-19 will reportedly look into the death and announce their findings later.

Earlier, authorities reported a separate case of a 72-year-old man who developed heart palpitations on Sunday, within 30 minutes of receiving the vaccine at the Central Library vaccination centre.

The man is said to be in hospital in stable condition.

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The news comes on the eve of the start of online bookings for receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, the first to be approved for use in Hong Kong, but delivered a week after the Sinovac shipment.

Officials say they expect thousands of people to register for the Pfizer/BioNTech inoculation, which will start on Mar 10.

CHP reported only 13 new Covid-19 cases today, 6 of them imported

Health officials today reported 13 new infections, six of which were imported cases.

Two patients flew in from Pakistan, one of whom was found to have the coronavirus variant. Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates each accounted for two of the other patients.

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More than 10 preliminary positive cases were reported, including nine whose sources of infection are unknown.

Among them is a 23-year-old woman who worked in sales at a fitness centre in Central, and had visited two bars cum restaurants in Lan Kwai Fong and Soho.

The confirmed cases included a retired academic at  the University of Science and Technology who may have contracted the virus from a 28-year-old man who was able to skip quarantine after arriving here from Shenzhen.

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Bethune House expands sheltering task to help stranded and quarantined workers

By Vir B. Lumicao

As Bethune helps, so it is helped. Indonesian migrants show donations to to the shelter.

                                                                                               

Adverse conditions brought on by the pandemic are bringing out the best in people.

Thus observes Edwina Antonio, executive director of Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge, who leads the shelter’s relief aid to scores of newly arrived workers in hotel quarantine, and hundreds of others stranded in Hong Kong and in between jobs.

The abnormal situation that leaders and politicians now call the new normal, ostensibly to soften its social impact, has broadened the task of Bethune House, which was set up nearly 35 years ago to provide refuge and help to distressed migrant workers.

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“What we’re doing is still part of our sheltering,” Antonio said in an interview.

She said when the coronavirus pandemic crept into Hong Kong early last year, Bethune limited its intake of clients to avoid the contagion. So did similar church-based shelters.

But she said Bethune initially failed to grasp the scope of the problem as it focused on those in hotel quarantine.

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“Hindi namin naaral na kung hindi namin in-admit at walang nag-aadmit, saan pupulutin ang mga iyan?” she said. (We failed to consider where [the displaced workers] would go if we didn’t admit them and no other shelter admitted them.)

Then, in September, the shelter began to receive messages from workers in hotel quarantine who were asking for extra food and water.

Antonio (in purple) with fellow donors in a meeting to streamline aid to quarantined workers

The problem was highlighted in December when the list of people in quarantine reached more than 500. It was then that Bethune House realized the magnitude of the problem and expanded its sheltering mission to those people.

The problem was aggravated by droves of workers coming to Hong Kong when the government relaxed its entry rules for foreign domestic helpers.

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At the same time, hundreds of dismissed workers were left stranded as carriers cancelled flights. Hundreds more who were waiting to join new employers also reached out as they had to stay in hostels and were running out of money and provisions.

The refuge run by Church-based charity Mission for Migrant Workers got SOS messages from quarantined OFWs appealing for food, water, toiletries and items the hotels niggardly gave. Similar calls came from the stranded workers in the hostels.

The torrent of appeals kept Bethune House busy, prompting it to call up volunteers and supporters to help cope with the calls for help.

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Bethune House’s review of its performance in 2020 showed it had housed 924 migrants in its two shelters in Sheung Wan and Jordan, as well as in hostels.

The refuge also handled 564 cases, including labor, virus-related, employment agency, police and immigration cases; and supported 200-plus migrants outside its shelters with visa extension, hostel rents and transport expenses.

Bethune House also provided nearly 3,000 meals to workers in quarantine and in hostels.

How Bethune, with just 16 clients in its two shelters, carried out this massive task was made possible by Good Samaritans who offered their time and resources to help.

Antonio said at the start, she had to go on foot with a handful of volunteers or clients to deliver food and water to those in hotel quarantine or were stuck in hostels.

As days passed, Bethune got unsolicited donations of food supplies, such as Japanese eggs, toiletries, warm clothes and even ladies’ sanitary stuff from private individuals and supporters. The shelter patiently prepared, packed and delivered these to the workers.

Then Antonio appealed to locals and Filipinos living in various parts of Hong Kong to help carry out relief service in their districts, such as in Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long. This saved the Bethune team from traveling long distances to deliver aid.

Antonio said the support groups prepared what the workers needed and did the delivery themselves. All they needed was for Bethune to tell them how many were asking for help, what their needs were and where they could be reached.

Bethune's samaritan on wheels

One volunteer who stands out is a local Chinese male who loads up his motorbike on his free day with about 25 relief packs to take to various hotels in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island where the quarantined workers were staying.

On a daily basis, Bethune House’s “ayuda” reaches about 45 quarantined workers and around 200 others who are toughing it out in their hostels.

Antonio said the positive side of Bethune’s relief activity is how it has instilled the virtue of caring for fellow workers among its clients. She said the clients very eagerly answer calls for help and do not get tired delivering packs of supplies to those in need.

This, she said, could be because the clients themselves have been in desperate situations before, and thus understand the plight of those who are now starving and desolate in their hotel rooms, as well as those in overcrowded hostels.

Bethune resident hands out relief packs to workers in hostels

There is just one wish that the tireless gatekeeper at Bethune House wants fulfilled now, and that is to find a telecom company or an individual with a big heart who could provide free SIM cards for quarantined workers so that they could contact their families and friends, or at least send out a call for help. 

Bethune House is currently running a fund drive called 'Raise the Roof 2021'. Details are in the poster below: 

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Tribunal tells FDH to post ad to locate no-show employer

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Zerrudo, who says she was not allowed to go out for 7 months, enjoys her newfound freedom

When her former employer did not show up at the Labour Tribunal on Feb 18 for the scheduled hearing of her claim of unpaid wages totaling more than $9,000, C.A. Zerrudo was almost certain she would win her case by default.

After all, she had complied with the instructions of a labour officer to send by registered mail to her employer, Chung Yin-ha, her claim notice, along with a letter she had sent to Immigration explaining why she was forced to leave the employer’s house.

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In her letter to Immigration in August last year, Zerrudo claimed she was forced to effect a constructive dismissal of her employment contract as Chung did not allow her to take a day off for the nearly seven months that she was in her employ.

As her letter to Chung was not returned to her registered address, which was the Mission for Migrant Workers’ office in Central, Zerrudo felt confident they would see each other again on the scheduled hearing date at the Tribunal.

To her dismay, Chung did not show up, so the hearing of her claim was postponed to Sept 23. On top of this, she was also told by tribunal officer W.H. Pun to put out an advertisement in a local Chinese newspaper about the next hearing date, to serve as public notice to her employer.

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“Nakakapanlambot kasi ginawa ko naman ang dapat kong gawin para maabisuhan si Chung na dapat siyang humarap sa korte para sagutin ang reklamo ko,” Zerrudo said.

(It’s frustrating because I did everything that I was supposed to do to ensure Chung would appear in court to respond to my complaint).

Zerrudo sought help from Mission case officer Edwina Antonio, who told her that the order was unusual but not rare. Antonio said an Indonesian client of the Mission received the same order, and ended up paying around $800 for the advertisement.

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But realizing how difficult it would be for Zerrudo to get permission from her new employer to take more time off to comply with the tribunal’s order, Antonio suggested the helper appeal the order.

On Feb 22, Zerrudo faxed a letter of appeal to Pun, explaining her difficulty in complying with the order, including the additional financial burden on her. But a week later, she received a letter from the Tribunal, quoting officer Pun as saying, “the order issued on Feb. 18 stands.”

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“Bakit hanggang ngayon ay ako pa rin ang nahihirapan na ipaglaban ang kaso ko?” asked Zerrudo with a touch of bitterness. (Why am I still being made to bear the burden of fighting my case until now?)

According to the Filipina, she arrived in Hong Kong for the first time in January last year to work for Chung, as well as for her married son Au, his wife and their two children.

At the beginning, she was told that she could take a day off every Friday. But this never happened because a few days after she arrived, Hong Kong recorded its first Covid-19 case, and Au reportedly told Zerrudo she should not leave the house because she might bring the virus home with her.

The Labour Tribunal rejected Zerrudo's appeal against the publication order

Zerrudo said she was allowed to go out briefly to send money home or buy grocery supplies, but never alone because Chung or the other members of her family would always accompany her to make sure she went home directly afterwards.

The helper’s resentment grew, but not knowing anyone in Hong Kong, she said she did not know how to get help. Also, Chung and Au reportedly shouted at her all the time, and would fight noisily every now and then that she became too scared to keep asking about being allowed to go out.

Still, she did not give up altogether. In her mobile phone are stored several messages she sent to her employment agency complaining about her predicament. But each time, she was advised to bear with it, as the pandemic was worsening. Zerrudo was also warned she would have to pay a month’s salary to her employer if she decided to terminate their contract.

Just before her birthday on Jun 12 last year, Zerrudo again begged to be let out so she could celebrate with her friends, but Chung’s family turned down her request once more. To appease her, they took her out to dinner.

By then, Zerrudo had learned about support organizations, and began seeking help. Everyone she consulted told her that not letting her out was illegal, and as such, she could leave anytime without paying compensation.

Still, she bid her time. Zerrudo said the final straw came on Aug 3 when Au, in a fit of rage, threw a printer in her direction, and almost hit her. She decided to call the police, prompting Chung to call an agency representative to work out a deal.

The talks with the police and the ensuing negotiations with the agency staff lasted the whole day, during which Zerrudo said she did not eat anything.

Tired and hungry, she took the $6,949 that was offered her for her unpaid salary, annual leave, air ticket to Mindanao and payment for one day-off and one statutory holiday, which according to her agency, was all she was entitled to.

But after consulting with the Mission, Zerrudo filed a claim for a further $9,102.26. This constitutes her one month salary in lieu of notice, owing to her alleged illegal dismissal, and payments for all the weekly days off and statutory holidays she was not allowed to take.

After a conciliation try by the Labour Department failed in December, her claim was forwarded to the Labour Tribunal for adjudication.

Zerrudo said all she could do now is wait and hope that she would be granted her just claim so she could move on with her life. 

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