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Cannix Yau

Unvaccinated children and elderly people are four to five times more likely to face serious complications or mortality from flu infections than those who receive vaccinations, a Hong Kong health official has warned, as influenza cases in the city continue to rise.
Director of Health Ronald Lam Man-kin issued the warning on Saturday as he pointed out that Hong Kong’s influenza infections had been increasing since June.
“Up until last week, the number of flu infections still remained at a high level,” he told a radio programme.
He said 13 per cent of laboratory samples tested positive for flu viruses, up from 12 per cent during the same period last year.
“The rate of seeking medical treatment or being hospitalised in public hospitals due to influenza was 0.83 cases per 10,000 people, significantly higher than 0.27 cases per 10,000 people over the same period last year. Among them, about 80 per cent of cases were caused by influenza A,” he added.
So far this year, 19 severe cases of influenza among children were recorded, including one death, he said. Eight cases involved children aged five or younger who were unvaccinated.
Lam urged the public, particularly the vulnerable groups, to actively get vaccinated as the government’s seasonal influenza vaccination programmes would begin next Thursday, one week earlier than in the previous year.
“For unvaccinated children, our data, including overseas data, shows they have five times greater risk of having complications or serious infections than those who got jabbed,” he warned.
“For the unvaccinated elderly aged 65 or above, they face four times greater risk of having serious infections or even mortality than their vaccinated counterparts. So the protection of vaccination is really strong.”
Some government programmes fall under the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme (VSS), which offers subsidised doses to vulnerable groups such as children, residents aged 50 or above, pregnant women and adults with chronic diseases.
Other schemes include the outreach vaccination programmes for schools and residential care homes. Lam said he expected that all students vaccinated under the school scheme would receive injections before mid-December.
Authorities have also strengthened a pilot scheme that helps private doctors procure vaccines under government contracts by tripling the supply and expanding the criteria for eligibility. Private doctors who registered with the scheme will provide free jabs to the public.


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Hong Kong director of health cites data showing unvaccinated children and elderly are four to five times more vulnerable than vaccinated individuals


Hong Kong director of health cites data showing unvaccinated children and elderly are four to five times more vulnerable than vaccinated individuals.


Unvaccinated children, elderly face much higher risk of major flu complications: official

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hong Kong director of health cites data showing unvaccinated children and elderly are four to five times more vulnerable than vaccinated individuals

Hong Kong director of health cites data showing unvaccinated children and elderly are four to five times more vulnerable than vaccinated individuals