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SCMP Editorial
Editorial
SCMP Editorial

Onset of summer flu season demands action from Hongkongers

Taking steps to widen vaccinations and infection-fighting habits should be a civic and individual responsibility well before cases surge

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A large Department of Health poster promoting the Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Programme is seen in Central on January 5. Photo: Jelly Tse
SCMP Editorial
Editorials represent the views of the South China Morning Post on the issues of the day.
Summer might not seem an obvious time to worry about dangerous respiratory infections, but health authorities are urging Hongkongers to be on alert during the warmer months amid a surge in cases of flu, Covid-19 and meningococcal disease. For weeks, health experts have urged people to ensure they are current with vaccinations as unusual influenza cycles play out.

The city’s previous flu season extended from September to January, late enough that there was no separate winter flu surge. Now the summer flu season is upon us, according to the head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection. Dr Albert Au Ka-wing also said there were dozens of severe flu infections among adults and several cases involving children.

About 60 per cent of the total had not received shots under the 2025-26 vaccination programme. Au said Covid-19 cases were also on the rise, with infections found in public hospital accident and emergency department admissions reaching 11 per 1,000 cases.

There has also been a worrying rise across Asia in meningococcal disease, a rare but life-threatening bacterial infection spread by close contact. Adding to concerns, a survey found that nearly 60 per cent of Hong Kong parents mistakenly believe the illness is no different from a common cold. The survey results, released by the Hong Kong Early Childhood Educators Association, have prompted calls for more awareness about the potentially fatal infection as summer travel gathers pace. About 78 per cent of parents in the poll had not vaccinated their children against the disease, and over one-third were unaware a jab was available.

The public should heed advice about vaccinations as well as good personal, environmental and hand hygiene to minimise the risk of infection. Masks should be a requirement for those with respiratory infection symptoms who venture out among others.

Failure to take action would fuel an infection surge that will threaten the city’s most vulnerable. Already, public hospital inpatient bed occupancy has risen beyond a critical 110 per cent. Taking steps to widen vaccinations and infection-fighting habits should be a civic and individual responsibility well before cases surge.

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