Incoming HKIS head stresses need for all-round approach
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![Chinese-made Covid-19 jabs are not as effective as foreign mRNA shots such as the Comirnaty vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech, according to health experts. Photo: AFP](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="76" height="47"><rect fill-opacity="0"/></svg>)
In the week he formally takes up his post, the new head of the Hong Kong International School has stressed his commitment to all-round education and the need to look beyond academic achievement alone.
An inauguration ceremony for Dr William Wehrenberg will be held tomorrow, with an address by Dr Melvin Kieschnick, one of the school's founders, and a response by parent Michael Tien Puk-sun, an Education Commission member.
Dr Wehrenberg said his philosophy was of helping students to become well-rounded people, coupled with the school's mission of encouraging academic excellence, spirituality and character development.
China must import mRNA vaccines to stop Covid-19 ‘disaster’, US health experts say
- As Beijing abandons zero-Covid, foreign jabs and antiviral medicine are key to limiting deaths, according to epidemiologists
- Without imported shots or strict mitigation measures, the country can expect up to 500,000 coronavirus-related deaths by April, says disease expert
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Following its sudden withdrawal of strict Covid-19 containment measures, the Chinese government has no choice but to import mRNA vaccines and antiviral medications if it hopes to limit a looming surge in Covid-19-related deaths, according to two US-based experts.
Without lockdowns or other mitigation measures, and in the absence of mRNA vaccines, China can expect as many as 500,000 Covid-related deaths by April of next year, said Ali Mokdad, a professor at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
He said that number could be cut in half if Chinese authorities enforce proper masking, introduce lockdowns where hospitals are filled beyond 80 per cent of capacity and adopt full transparency on the number of local infections.
“Ninety-eight per cent of Americans have been infected at least once with Covid-19, and this will happen in China, but it’s going to happen in a shorter time,” said Mokdad, a former senior epidemiologist with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
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