Foreigners should benefit from vaccination program

By Paul Mosely (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-25 11:10

Epidemiologists will tell you that for a vaccination program to be effective in preventing a pandemic it is not necessary to inoculate the whole population. Rather, if the number vaccinated exceeds a smaller, critical proportion, the spread of the disease will still fizzle out for lack of dissemination.

However, this critical number has to be reached or else the reverse will occur, namely, that although vaccinated individuals will be protected, the pandemic will still rage through the rest of the population.

It is with this in mind that I feel concerned that so many people in Beijing (presumably also in the rest of the country) are declining to be vaccinated even though it is provided free to nearly all those who want it.

Whatever the reasons for this phenomenon (anecdotal evidence points to some people's fears over the safety of the A(H1N1) vaccines despite the declarations of many qualified organizations domestically and worldwide attesting to their safety), we should try to ensure a sufficient uptake to provide that crucial barrier to pandemic spread.

Perversely, there are many residents here who would be only too happy to receive the vaccine and who are within the specified age group, but who are denied access to it (whether free or not) for only one reason - that they are foreign.

We have made repeated calls to the Beijing public health hotline (12320 Service Center) to ask on behalf of the eight long-term resident expatriate employees of our company how we can protect them and their families.

The answer has invariably been that the hotline does not know, it has not received any instruction, we should wait, etc, but with no progress.

We also keep a close watch for news in METRO, where many tantalizing hints of forthcoming availability have appeared, but so far nothing but the news in Monday's edition that the only group of expatriates who do not need it, the cosseted, privileged diplomats who can anyway receive it courtesy of their home governments, will have access.

I have been a (non-diplomat) resident of Beijing for over 30 years, I pay my taxes and contribute to the growth of the economy by the provision of my skills.

I feel that it is grossly unfair to be denied protection for what can only be described as a question of race!