Hong Kong rolled out its mass coronavirus vaccination programme in February 2021. However, vaccine surplus was observed at that time due to serious vaccine hesitancy among most of Hong Kong citizens at that time. Meanwhile, vaccine inequity problem was found in developing countries such as African countries where health workers and elderly there failed to obtain adequate vaccines and aids, taking its toll on some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. To understand global perception of COVID vaccination and distribution of vaccines and aids around the world, the One Health research cluster of CityU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences gathered three experts in the field of public policy, to share their research findings on these global public health issues in the One Health Seminar held on 5 May 2022.
The first presentation entitled “Revisiting Collectivism during COVID-19: An East/West Comparison of Vaccination and Compliance Behaviours” was given by Dr Edmund CHENG, Associate Professor of CityU’s Department of Public Policy. It is generally believed that personal behaviour in the West is driven by individualism whilst the East is more collective-oriented. However, by analysing a probability-based Internet survey of six jurisdictions and more than 6,000 valid samples in 2021, it is found that the level of collectivism in the West has been higher than in the East during the COVID-19 pandemic. It indicated that a collective defence orientation in the West has created a higher probability of vaccine uptake and a greater willingness to persuade others to take the vaccine.
The second presentation shifted the focus of audience to the public health programmes in developing countries. Dr Scott WILLIAMSON, Assistant Professor of Bocconi University’s Department of Social and Political Sciences, shared his research on the topic “Where’s the Money From? Attitudes toward Donor Countries and Aid-Funded Public Health Programs in the Arab World” with the third speaker Dr Renu SINGH, a scholar at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University and also a faculty member at Bocconi University. Attitudes of aid-recipients toward aid-funded health programmes were analysed in the Arab world, where Western donors are often polarising and disliked. A survey experiment conducted in Egypt showed that respondents approve less of public health programmes when they are funded by the US or French development agencies instead of the Egyptian government. Descriptive survey data from the Arab Barometer has reinforced the experimental findings by illustrating the impact of anti-Americanism and perceptions of donor motives in heightening opposition to aid.
Dr Renu SINGH was the last speaker in the seminar to share her research findings on “Public Support for Global Vaccine Distribution: Evidence from Germany, Italy, and the United States”. In regard of the vaccine equity issue around the world, Dr SINGH conducted representative surveys in Germany, Italy, and the US during COVID-19 to analyse public standpoints on this issue and how their opinions may be shifted to be more supportive of equitable vaccine distribution internationally. The results show that the public holds relatively nuanced views, with high levels of support for technology transfers and knowledge sharing but much less for limiting domestic vaccine supplies to send more abroad. A survey experiment also provides some evidence that framing equitable distribution as advantageous for ending the pandemic is more likely to increase support for supplying vaccines abroad than framing it as an issue of fairness.
The seminar was moderated by Dr Nicholas THOMAS, Associate Professor of CityU’s Department of Asian and International Studies. The three speakers examined the global public health issues from different perspectives with evidence and new findings. Their research suggested measures to safeguard public health and provided valuable insights to address global public health challenges.
