June 2008

The Hong Kong government is reportedly considering expanding the influenza vaccination program to include children aged under five years. York Chow, Secretary for Food and Health of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, told lawmakers that an additional 219,000 children will benefit once the program expands. Chow said the HKSAR government is also studying the feasibility of subsidising private doctors to provide the vaccinations. Centre for Health Protection Controller Dr. Thomas Tsang said the expansion is due to the higher hospitalization rate of children aged two to five compared with the general population. Tsang further added that about 287,000 people received vaccination last year, taking up almost the entire 300,000 vaccines prepared by the HKSAR government.

Content Updated (Wednesday, 9 July 2008)