The Gift of the Jab
After a year that has not been easy for anyone, conditions are starting to improve in some parts of the world, to the point that it is possible to entertain thoughts of life as it once was without immediately spiralling into depression upon glancing at the daily news. As restrictions ease, there is even talk of travel and, in places like New York, London and Paris that are reopening with a determination to put the pandemic behind, having the best summer ever. Well, it can hardly be worse than last year’s.
Of course, releasing this pent-up demand for a holiday is dependent on many things, not the least of which is driving a successful vaccination campaign, something that has been woefully hamstrung in Hong Kong despite ample access to vaccines. For what it’s worth, I’ve had both shots already and the only noticeable side effects to report were a sudden sense of smugness and frequent bouts of self-righteousness. I’d like to dedicate this letter, in fact, to my colleagues at Tatler who were moved to inspire the community to get vaccinated by creating a video series and social media campaign, #Ourbestshot. (A cast of dozens were involved, but special shout-outs go to society editor Tara Sobti for wrangling the talent, and our crack art team of Gillian Nadel, Kevin Cheung and Rohan Gupta for not making me dance on camera.)
Over several weeks this spring, important executives, chefs, designers and artists stopped by our offices to tell us their reasons for getting the jab. “I just want to be able to go back to life before Covid-19,” said Prenetics founder Danny Yeung. “I miss being able to dance without a mask on,” said Florence Tsai. “The quicker we get this done, the quicker we can save lives, save jobs and save businesses,” said Shane Osborn, the chef of Arcane. They’re all right. Go to tatlerhongkong.com to see more, or follow us on social media @tatlerhongkong.
So if you can get vaccinated, get vaccinated. And let’s make this the best summer ever. To that end, this issue will give you many reasons to look forward to better times, with delightful reminiscences on Hong Kong’s favourite time of year from Tatler insiders in The Scene and a special summer-themed fashion section, as well as some wildly surprising features on Christine Chiu of Bling Empire and Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling, who’ll likely inspire you to start getting in shape for swimsuit season. Chiu even gives us her top tips for living your most over-the-top summer in a way that only she can, but her No 1 piece of advice is this:
“Get vaccinated,” she says. “For your protection and others, please get vaccinated. Peace of mind is essential to having a great time.”