Subsidised flu vaccinations to be extended to Hong Kong primary school pupils
The scheme currently covers those aged from six months to six years; move follows 25 per cent drop in child vaccinations
Primary school children aged below 12 will benefit from subsidised flu jabs, according to health minister Ko Wing-man.
The move comes after the number of vaccinated children declined 25 per cent in the latest flu season, in which H1N1 and influenza B viruses were more prevalent.
Ko told the Legislative Council that the Centre for Health Protection had been getting ready to expand the Childhood Influenza Vaccination Subsidy Scheme, which covers children aged between six months to less than six years old, to those below 12.
“The Centre for Health Protection and the Hospital Authority are now discussing with the medical sector and schools how to send medical staff to schools to administer flu jabs,” Ko said.
The decision was made after the centre’s scientific committee on vaccine preventable diseases recommended an expansion of the scheme to primary school children.
