Secretary for Health gets seasonal influenza vaccination (with images)
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The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, got a seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) at Sai Wan Ho Family Medicine Clinic today (September 7). The Permanent Secretary for Health, Mr Thomas Chan; the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Cecilia Fan; the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam; the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH), Dr Edwin Tsui; the Commissioner for Primary Healthcare of the Health Bureau (HHB), Dr Pang Fei-chau; the Chairman of the Hospital Authority (HA), Mr Henry Fan; the Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Libby Lee; the Assistant Director of the Strategic Purchasing Office of the HHB, Dr Christina Maw, and frontline health care employees likewise signed up with the effort and got vaccinations.
Teacher Lo stated, “SIV is one of the most effective means to prevent seasonal influenza and its complications. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against influenza virus infection. To be prepared for the current summer and possible winter influenza seasons in one go, I strongly appeal to all members of the public to receive SIV as early as possible.”
SIV can efficiently lower the threats of severe diseases and death. All members of the general public aged 6 months or above, other than those with recognized contraindications, must get SIV. With the collective efforts of the Government and numerous sectors of the neighborhood (consisting of the medical sectors, schools, moms and dads and property care homes), over 2.03 million dosages of vaccines were administered under the different SIV programs in the previous year of 2025/26, with general protection rates of the target population staying comparable to those of the preceding year. Amongst kids and teenagers, the SIV rate for individuals aged 6 months to under 18 years reached 64.8 percent, which is 13.1 portion points greater than the average for the exact same duration over the previous 3 seasons (51.7 percent). The vaccination rate for teenagers aged 12 to under 18 years reached 61.4 percent, representing a significant boost of 22.6 portion points compared to the average for the very same duration over the previous 3 seasons (38.8 percent). Under the Seasonal Influenza Vaccination School Outreach Programme (SIVSOP), more than 2 300 schools (representing 99 percent of all schools) finished SIV outreach activities by the end of December 2025, up from 91 percent in the preceding year.
The Government will introduce the 2026/27 Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Programmes, consisting of the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme (VSS), the Government Vaccination Programme, the SIVSOP and the Residential Care Home Vaccination Programme next Thursday (September 17) to offer totally free or subsidised SIV for kids and teenagers aged 6 months to under 18 years; grownups aged 18 to 49 with persistent medical conditions (despite monetary status); individuals aged 50 or above (consisting of the senior living in domestic care homes); pregnant females and health care employees, and others. For the 2026/27 SIV programs, the Government has actually obtained around 1.3 million dosages of 4 kinds of influenza vaccines. These 4 kinds of vaccines and their providers have all satisfied Hong Kong’s rigorous regulative requirements for pharmaceutical items. The Government has actually likewise acquired 300 000 vaccine dosages for qualified medical professionals under the Pilot Scheme on Vaccine Procurement for Doctors (Pilot Scheme).
Teacher Lo included, “The Government has consistently accorded high priority to the SIV programmes and has, on an ongoing basis, introduced enhancement measures every year with a view to raising vaccination coverage rates. This year, the Government will implement four optimising initiatives, which are optimising vaccine procurement arrangements with the diversified, non-single-supplier procurement approach to help mitigate supply-chain risks, ensuring the reliability and sustainability of vaccine sources; introducing a new Electronic Consent Form feature through eHealth, which enables members of the public to submit their e-consent forms for the SIVSOP and the VSS via the eHealth mobile application, facilitating public participation in the vaccination programmes and streamlining the administrative procedures for healthcare service providers and schools; increasing the number of influenza vaccine doses to 300 000 for the Pilot Scheme while expanding the eligibility groups of doctors to further enhance the stability of the vaccine supply in the private market; and strengthening the mobilisation of community resources and collaborations with more units in promoting and arranging vaccination activities in the community to jointly expand the protection barrier in society.”
For more information, members of the general public might call the CHP at 2125 2125 or check out the Vaccination Schemes page.