A new survey of over-60s has found that more than one in ten have concealed past Covid infections, while some say fear of side effects have stopped them from getting three jabs.

The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute said of 664 seniors it interviewed last month, 12 percent admitted that they had not reported positive results they had gotten from rapid antigen tests (RATs).

Infectious disease specialist Joseph Tsang, who attended a press conference on Sunday announcing the results, said it’s likely that those who chose to hide their infections didn’t want to be quarantined.

"The reason behind for not reporting I guess maybe somehow related to their belief that they need to be sent into those isolation campuses. Another possibility may be they don't want to affect their family," he said.

The survey also found that 18 percent of respondents had not gotten tripled-jabbed yet. Among these people, more than a third said they had delayed getting the vaccinations because they were scared of side effects.

But Tsang stressed that these side effects are rare, and the benefits of getting jabbed outweigh the risks.

"We have to correct their misbeliefs,” he said. “We have to show data to them to show that the adverse reactions and side effects in fact are not that common among the elderly."

He said elderly people should take their third, or even fourth jabs as soon as possible, to reduce their risks of getting severely ill.