The government will expand the free flu vaccination scheme to cover Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients aged 50 or above from next month.
This comes after middle-aged people were identified as a high-risk group along with the elderly and the young. 'Looking at the past winter flu season this year, we found that people aged 50 to 64 had a higher rate of complications from influenza compared with other age groups,' Centre for Health Protection controller Dr Thomas Tsang Ho-fai said yesterday.
Between January 24 and March 31, of 123 influenza cases handled in intensive care units or resulted in death, 50 patients were aged 50 to 64. Of these 50 cases, 19 were previously healthy.
From next month, 1.3 million free flu vaccine shots will be provided to eligible groups in public hospitals and clinics as well as in homes for the elderly and disabled.
Tsang said over-50s not on welfare should get the vaccine from private doctors.
The number of flu cases is now stable, with the H3 virus being the main type, unlike the last winter peak when swine flu, officially called A(H1N1), was prevalent.