Editorial | Hong Kong must redouble vaccination efforts amid threat of longer flu season
The recent deaths of two children, virus mutations and the risk of seasonal overlap highlight the urgency of getting inoculated
These cases, the mutations and the risk of seasonal overlap redouble the urgency for families and schools to complete vaccination, which remains effective in protecting against serious complications from a genetically mutated influenza A (H3N2) virus.
Health authorities say the mutated strain, known as J.2.4.1, has rapidly become increasingly active around the world since August. David Hui Shu-cheong, a professor of respiratory medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the mutated flu strain appeared to be more transmissible, although it did not appear to cause more severe symptoms. For every 100 people infected with the mutated strain, another 140 could go on to contract the virus, compared with 120 before the mutation occurred.
The latest figures from the Centre for Health Protection indicated that local flu activity remained high but showed signs of decreasing. But that does not reckon with the onset of cooler weather that drives people indoors, where air is not as well circulated.
Hong Kong’s winter flu season typically lasts from January to March. Hui said the next one or two years would help determine whether Hong Kong was heading towards a more permanent year-round flu pattern, comparable with Singapore.
The Department of Health said more than 93 per cent of schools are scheduled to have arranged vaccinations by the end of November. While rates are higher than last year, the department has rightly urged institutions to try to advance inoculation arrangements.