Autumn might be around the corner, but Hong Kong’s “summer” flu season
has only just started and could overlap with the typical winter surge. Everyone in the city should heed the call from health officials urging vaccinations to protect the community. Flu normally has a summer run from July or August and a break before a winter surge in cases from January to March. This year, the numbers started to rise only after school resumed about two weeks ago.
Professor Lau Yu-lung, chairman of the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases under the Centre for Health Protection, said recently that the effects of global warming could have set the city up for a challenging overlap of flu seasons.
He said sufficient “public hygiene measures and vaccination rates”, especially among vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly, could change the trajectory. Efforts to bring down costs and widen vaccination options could help. From next Thursday, the government’s 2025-26 seasonal flu vaccination programme will offer eligible high-risk groups subsidised vaccinations, including two inactivated jabs, a recombinant shot and a nasal spray.
The government has
expanded the group of people eligible for free or subsidised flu jabs to include all chronically ill patients aged 18 to 49, regardless of financial background. In the past, they had to be recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance. Other groups eligible for free or subsidised jabs include residents aged 50 and above, those between 18 and 49 with intellectual and physical disabilities, children aged from 6 months to 18 years, pregnant women, care home residents, healthcare workers, poultry workers, pig farmers and pig-slaughtering industry personnel. The authorities also plan to boost the flu vaccine coverage rate by requiring schools to provide reasons for opting out of an outreach programme, as well as procure jabs for family doctors to ensure a steady supply.
Last year, coverage rates were high and officials noted a drop in serious cases and outbreaks. However, flu and other respiratory illnesses such as Covid-19 remain threats, especially for people with underlying conditions. With no let-up in flu seasons this year, there is no room for vaccine complacency.
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