Hong Kong urges early flu jabs for children as 29 severe cases recorded
Hong Kong's health chief urged schools and parents to vaccinate children against seasonal flu, noting over 1,900 schools have completed outreach vaccinations. Data shows unvaccinated children are five times more likely to suffer severe complications or death from flu. The government has introduced a
The Director of Hong Kong's Department of Health, Dr. Lam Wing-kin, on 11 November visited a kindergarten to observe seasonal flu vaccine outreach activities and urged all schools and parents to arrange vaccinations for children as early as possible to build a robust immunity barrier.
Dr. Lam said that with careful preparation by schools and medical outreach teams, the vaccination process for children, whether by nasal spray or injection, has been very smooth and orderly. Since the programme began just over a month ago, more than 1,900 schools have completed outreach vaccinations, with the remainder expected to be finished by mid-December. He thanked schools and medical teams for their support in building a stable immunity barrier to protect children and reduce the risk of severe illness or death from seasonal flu.
Dr. Lam noted that the government has introduced a new electronic consent function on the Health Hub mobile app this year to simplify the process. The e-consent system reduces the steps for parents to repeatedly fill in personal information and eases the administrative burden on schools and medical outreach teams. He said this has been a key factor in completing this year's vaccination activities earlier, and the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) will continue to review and optimise the service.
The CHP has continued to allow schools to use a 'mixed mode' this year, offering both injectable inactivated and nasal spray live attenuated flu vaccines during the same outreach activity. Schools were able to sign up for the 2026/27 programme as early as June. Thanks to joint efforts by the government, the medical sector and schools, more than 2,200 schools (99 per cent of the total) will hold flu vaccine outreach activities this academic year. The first outreach vaccination session was held on 18 September, the day after the programme began. Overall, school outreach activities have been completed earlier than last season.
CHP Director Dr. Chuang Lee-kin, who accompanied Dr. Lam on the visit, said CHP epidemiological investigations show that severe or fatal cases this flu season have mainly affected the young and elderly. He stressed that cooperation among the government, schools and parents to boost vaccination coverage is needed to strengthen children's immunity. Hong Kong has been in a flu season since late June, lasting more than four months. Although the latest surveillance data shows a decline in overall flu activity, it remains above the baseline. The flu season has recorded 29 severe cases in children, of which 22 have been discharged, two are stable, three are in critical condition and two have died. Analysis of last year's data by the CHP found that children who were not vaccinated against seasonal flu were about five times more likely to suffer severe complications or die from flu than those who were vaccinated. Analysis of this season's severe cases found that the vast majority had high-risk factors, including underlying chronic diseases or not receiving this season's flu vaccine.
Dr. Chuang emphasised that all people aged six months or older, except those with known contraindications, who have not yet been vaccinated should act quickly, including those who were infected during the summer flu season, to prevent possible new virus strains during the coming winter flu season. Eligible people can receive flu vaccines at about 270 public service points, including 110 Department of Health clinics, 76 Hospital Authority family medicine clinics and 38 public hospitals, and 45 District Health Centres and service points under the Primary Healthcare署. A list of locations is available on the CHP's seasonal flu vaccination programme webpage. Parents of eligible children can also book appointments online at designated maternal and child health centres. More than 1,900 private doctors are participating in the Vaccine Subsidy Scheme at over 3,200 service points across the territory.