People sit in a rest area after receiving the COVID 19 coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination center in Hong Kong on March 11, 2022. The government announced on Tuesday that more than 20,000 COVID 19 vaccination exemptions allegedly issued without proper medical diagnoses by seven private doctors will be invalid on October 12, the government said.
The statement said that the over 20,000 exemption certificates account for more than half of all the currently valid certificates.
The doctors are accused of abusing their power to issue the documents and failing to provide proper medical consultation to patients in accordance with the guidelines of the Department of Health. By Wednesday morning, six of the doctors had been arrested and one is still wanted by the police.
The Department of Health and Health Bureau sent the doctors' cases to the Medical Council of Hong Kong for follow-up.
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Residents who hold exemption certificates issued by the seven affected doctors were urged to consult other doctors to determine whether they can receive COVID- 19 vaccines or to be medically exempted, according to the statement.
A government spokesman said if a person is found to have used an invalid or fraudulent medical exemption certificate upon verification, the information will be passed on to enforcement departments for follow-up.
The Crimes Ordinance may be contravened by knowing invalid documentation, and the violator faces a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment.
Henry Lung Hon-Fai, president of the Hong Kong Doctors Union, said he believes the plan to give affected patients about two weeks to consult other doctors is reasonable.
He said on Tuesday that the incident may put some pressure on other doctors when issuing certificates, but as long as they act in line with the government standards, it shouldn't be difficult to handle.
Leung estimated that less than 10 percent of the more than 20,000 patients have a medical need for an exemption. He urged doctors to be more cautious about the issue.
There is a market for the exemptions issued by the seven doctors, according to Alex Lam Chi-yau, chairman of Hong Kong Patients' Voices.
He said that doctors will be more prudent in issuing exemption papers after the police's law-enforcement operations and perhaps some doctors will not issue the exemption papers under pressure, which will in fact affect some residents' options on vaccination matters.