Hong Kong child deaths stress need to have flu jabs
- Third girl dies from virus as H1 strain sweeps city, helped by Hong Kong’s low herd immunity and poor vaccination rate
The declaration that Covid-19 was no longer a public health crisis around this time last year may have given many people suffering from coronavirus fatigue the impression individual health was no longer under threat. This false sense of security was only further reinforced when the cold season, which is traditionally associated with flu infections, turned out warmer.
However, the truth is that it was not too long ago when Hong Kong was still grappling with the double whammy of Covid and seasonal flu outbreaks, both of which can be life-threatening.
The deaths of three girls last month serve as a sad reminder of this. On Monday an unvaccinated four-year-old, who initially suffered from a fever and sore throat after being infected with influenza A, died at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan.
Her death followed those of a vaccinated and previously healthy six-year-old who contracted the H1 strain of the virus and an unvaccinated eight-year-old, who also had the H1 strain.
The Centre for Health Protection has warned that the flu season will last longer this year because of the city’s low vaccination rate and has urged the public to get inoculated. It said the dominant flu virus strain had shifted from influenza A subtype H3, found in infections from January to March, to subtype H1 recorded in the most recent cases.
Hong Kong’s so-called low herd immunity allows a different strain of the virus to dominate in society.
“The current influenza season will persist for a period of time and more outbreaks and severe cases might be recorded in the coming weeks,” the centre said.
Death of third Hong Kong girl from flu sparks urgent calls for public to get jabs
With the average flu period extending from eight to 12 weeks, the need for the vulnerable to come forward for their jabs has become more urgent. Currently, about 50 per cent of the city’s population has been vaccinated against seasonal flu.
Satisfactory as that may seem, the rate, experts say, needs to be as high as 80 per cent to build a more effective immunity barrier against infections and mutations. Just as masks are still being worn by many people as a first line of defence, wider vaccination coverage will also help reinforce immunity and protection.
