Hong Kong school students and other at-risk residents can receive influenza vaccines one week earlier this year, after the government diversified its procurement efforts and streamlined administrative measures. Authorities also said on Monday they aimed to boost the injection rate among people aged 65 or above and children aged six months to two years, adding…
Hong Kong authorities have defended the city’s childhood vaccination programme after the United States scaled back its immunisation recommendations, stressing that public health policies should not be “arbitrarily altered”. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said on Tuesday that all public health policies and medical recommendations had to be based on scientific evidence. “Vaccination schedules…
Parents can submit online consent forms from Monday for their children’s seasonal flu vaccinations under a school outreach programme, with Hong Kong authorities seeking to simplify procedures. The Centre for Health Protection said on Tuesday that a digital consent system would be introduced on the eHealth mobile application – the city’s electronic health record platform…
Hong Kong parents should have their children vaccinated against respiratory infections as the city faces a triple threat from influenza, Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a medical expert has said. Dr Mike Kwan Yat-wah, an honorary clinical associate professor in the University of Hong Kong’s department of paediatrics and adolescent medicine, warned on Saturday…
An 89-year-old patient at the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital is highly likely to have contracted legionnaires’ disease after drinking water from a contaminated dispenser, health authorities have said. The Centre for Health Protection confirmed on Tuesday that samples from devices dispensing cooled boiled water at the private hospital in Happy Valley tested positive for…
Hongkonger Ms Lam has long known she is carrying a ticking time bomb after her mother and grandmother died of liver cancer. Her mother was completely asymptomatic until a late-stage diagnosis left no option for surgery. “I knew I carried the hepatitis B virus when I was in my twenties and had since then undergone…
Hong Kong health authorities have called on the public to stay vigilant as the city has entered the summer flu season, with Covid-19 cases also on the rise. Dr Albert Au Ka-wing, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said on Thursday that surveillance data suggested flu cases rose significantly…
Hong Kong may enter its summer flu season earlier than usual this year, with a peak likely to occur later this month, health authorities have said, urging unvaccinated residents to receive jabs for protection. Dr Edwin Tsui Lok-kin, controller of the Centre for Health Protection, said on Tuesday that influenza activity in the city had…
A poultry stall at a Hong Kong market has been disinfected after an environmental sample tested positive for the H9 bird flu virus, with shoppers remaining largely unfazed despite a recent infection involving a two-year-old boy. The affected stall, the only live poultry shop operating inside Sha Tin’s Wo Che Market, temporarily suspended operations on…
Hong Kong has recorded a surge in Mpox cases linked to a gay-friendly sauna and fitness club in Mong Kok, prompting health authorities to launch a targeted vaccination outreach programme for high-risk groups. The Centre for Health Protection has contacted more than 300 people who visited the venue since May for medical surveillance and urged…