Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan visited the Shau Kei Wan Jockey Club General Out-patient Clinic today to inspect the implementation of the Government vaccination programme.
She received a seasonal influenza vaccination along with other officials.
Prof Chan urged citizens to get vaccinated as Hong Kong is expected to enter its peak winter flu season early next year.
So far about 50,000 injections have been administered since the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme launched in October, about 8,000 more year-on-year, she added.
In terms of supplying a drug for patients suffering from a rare disease, Prof Chan said the Government has written a letter to the pharmaceutical company that provides the drug to treat spinal muscular atrophy.
“Further to my letter to the pharmaceutical company, the Hospital Authority and the Department of Health have already been in contact with them. They have agreed that they are going to exchange information on the safety, the efficacy and also effectiveness of the drug,” she said.
Based on analysis of the information, the Hospital Authority will follow up with the company to move forward with making the drug available in Hong Kong, Prof Chan said.
