The government is buying insurance by spending HK$1 billion on swine flu and other flu vaccines to give free inoculations to millions of people at risk, health minister York Chow Yat-ngok said yesterday.
Confirming the launch of the city's biggest free inoculation programme, the secretary for food and health said: 'The programme is entirely voluntary ... We have no plan to vaccinate the entire population.'
The Executive Council yesterday endorsed free swine flu inoculations for 2 million people in four 'high risk' groups: those aged 65 and above, children aged six months to six years, all health care workers and people with 'pre-existing medical conditions'. The latter category comprises the chronically sick, pregnant women and people whose immune systems have been suppressed, such as cancer patients and those on long- term aspirin therapy.
The programme will also provide free inoculation against seasonal flu and pneumococcal infection for 886,000 elderly.
Dr Chow said: 'We have to make an early decision to procure the swine flu vaccine to make sure of an adequate supply.'
The government will buy 4 million doses for the free inoculations - each person needs two shots. It will buy another 1 million doses to allow a further 500,000 people to buy protection against the disease.
