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Hui says getting a flu jab is more urgent than going for a Covid-19 booster shot |
A top health adviser to the Hong Kong government has called on the public to get vaccinated against the flu as the influenza season is expected to overlap with a coronavirus outbreak next month.
The warning from respiratory expert Dr David Hui of
the Chinese University came as 37 people came down with a severe bout with the
flu last week, and 21 died as a result.
Only 15 of the severely infected patients were vaccinated.
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PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Hui said it was more important for people to get
vaccinated against the flu than get a Covid-19 booster.
“We have not come across the flu for three years so
it would be tough for those who get infected,” Hui said in a radio programme.
In contrast, he said many people had already been
inoculated or infected with the coronavirus in the past three years so its
symptoms have become mild.
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PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
He also said it was important for people to get a
flu shot this year even if they had one last year because the new jabs covered
the latest strains highlighted by the World Health Organization.
A total of 232 severe flu cases have already been
recorded since the start of the summer flu season in August this year, with 141
deaths to date.
Public health clinics have begun giving free flu
shots starting on October 5 to people aged 65 and above, pregnant women, residents and staff of residential
care homes, poultry workers and pig farmers and those with chronic health
conditions who are CSSA recipients.
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PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
At the Migrant Workers Office of the Philippine Consulate, however, Filipino domestic workers aged 50 and above have been offered free flu shots since the start of the month through a government grant to a private clinic.
Apart from the flu shot, Hui said people in high-risk groups,
including those aged 18 to 49 with chronic diseases and immunocrompromised
children at least six months old, should also get a Covid-19 booster if more than
six months have passed since they last had a jab or infection.
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Pindutin dito |
Hui and other medical experts sitting in a committee
reviewing strategies for public health management earlier this week recommended
that residents receive a third-generation Covid-19 jab targeting the XBB
variant for better protection ahead of a winter surge.
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PADALA NA! |
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