Hong Kong is expanding its free influenza jab program this vaccination season to people aged 18 to 49 with chronic illnesses, a move fueled by a significant plunge in severe cases following last year’s record-breaking immunization drive.
The authorities will also enhance school outreach programs, provide a recombinant influenza vaccine to better protect care-home-based elderly, procure vaccines for private doctors and optimize information distribution to boost vaccine coverage ahead of the winter flu season.
On Monday, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) announced that seasonal influenza vaccination arrangements for the 2025-26 flu season, including school outreach programs and for residential care homes, will commence on Sept 25.
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In a key change this year, the CHP will extend free coverage to adults aged 18 to 49 with chronic conditions, regardless of their financial status. To receive the government-funded shots, eligible people must register for eHealth, the government-run electronic health record system.
The free-jab program already covered people aged 50 or above, children aged six months to under 18 years old, pregnant women, and other high-risk groups such as healthcare workers and pig farmers.
The extension has been fueled by last season’s successful vaccination program. The CHP said a record 2.09 million flu vaccine doses were administered last year - a 10 percent year-on-year increase - and the enhanced coverage was directly linked by experts to a 20 percent fall in adult hospitalizations and a 60 percent drop in child flu cases compared to pre-pandemic levels. In schools, outbreaks of influenza-like illness were also said to have plummeted nearly 90 percent.
“Vaccination remains one of the most effective ways to prevent seasonal influenza and its complications,” said the CHP’s controller, Edwin Tsui Lok-kin, speaking at a news conference on Monday afternoon.
Tsui said that 99 percent of local schools -- some 2,300 institutions -- have joined the outreach jab program this season, a one percentage point increase on last year. The CHP will publish a list of non-participating schools online and remind parents of children in those schools to receive vaccinations by their own arrangement.
READ MORE: CHP: HK winter flu season mild, but summer outbreak possible
In a procurement shift, the CHP has for the first time acquired the recombinant flu vaccine for all elderly nursing home residents and disabled persons aged 65 or above, following scientific advice that such vaccines offer superior protection relative to other options.
To further enhance vaccine supply and ensure broader coverage, the Department of Health has also helped procure 100,000 doses for specified family doctors this year, enabling them to administer vaccines at no additional cost to people, which is expected to serve as a strong supplementation to the city’s flu immunity network.
The government will also update its website of vaccination program to help the public find private doctors providing subsidized vaccines and other vaccination sites.
Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com
