Alan* was barred from entering a Hong Kong restaurant where his family had gathered to commemorate his late wife after her funeral in April because he had not received a Covid-19 vaccine.

“It was shameful. It was upsetting. It was my wife, a senior member of the family,” the 63-year-old owner of an IT company who suffers from strokes said. “For me not being able to host my wife’s lunch … It was very frustrating.”

Desperate and helpless, he later found a doctor who issued him a vaccination exemption certificate after evaluating his health.

But in September, that doctor was among seven people arrested for allegedly issuing fraudulent documents. A total of 20,000 vaccine exemptions issued by the medical practitioners, including Alan’s, were annulled.

Under Hong Kong’s vaccine pass scheme, which began in February, unvaccinated individuals cannot enter places such as restaurants, bars and gyms.

Those who are medically unfit for the jabs are allowed to obtain a vaccination exemption certificate, which is valid for three to six months, after undergoing clinical assessments.

But for patients such as Alan, seeking an exemption was not easy, especially after the arrests. Alan was in a car accident 14 years ago and suffered a head injury that put him in hospital for a month. He is now prone to mini-strokes, with the latest one in April this year.