The SUN HK : Health expert urges public to get flu shots

15 October 2023

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.