Gov’t to maintain flu shot supply

February 12, 2018

Centre for Health Protection Controller Dr Wong Ka-hing:
For the vaccine’s availability, the Scientific Committee (on Vaccine Preventable Diseases) also noted from media reports that the availability or the supply of the vaccine in the private market appears to be tight and there have been different reports that there (are) some difficulties in sourcing the vaccine for children or even for adults who would like to go for vaccination at this time and point. And so that’s why the Government has been trying its very best to negotiate with the vaccine suppliers to import extra supply of the seasonal influenza vaccine to Hong Kong. And so far that has been successful, I would say, in securing for the Government’s vaccination programme, more than 40,000 doses of extra vaccine to meet the demand of this season. And also the vaccine suppliers have imported another amount for the private market. As I just said, for the 2017/18 season, the vaccine order for the Government’s vaccination programme has been placed as early as the first quarter of 2017. That’s the all-along practice as required by the drug supplier or else you can’t secure the amount of the vaccine that you require. So in effect you have to determine the amount of vaccine to be procured for the upcoming season, a long time, many, many months before, well ahead. Really, 2018, as of now the upsurge in the demand mainly in the private market, we would say, is really (an) unusual upsurge. But as far as the Government’s vaccination programme, we can say that so long there is an increase in the demand compared with previous years, even up to now, but there has never been (an) interruption in the provision of vaccine under the Government’s vaccination programme to those eligible persons who would like to come forward to the Government sector to receive the seasonal influenza vaccination.

The Centre for Health Protection has reassured the public it will continue to procure a supply of the seasonal influenza vaccine to meet demand during the winter flu season.

The centre’s Controller Dr Wong Ka-hing made the statement today after attending a meeting held by the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases.

“There is an increase in the demand compared with previous years, even up to now, but there has never been (an) interruption in the provision of vaccine under the Government’s vaccination programme to those eligible persons who would like to come forward to the Government sector to receive the seasonal influenza vaccination,” he said.

Dr Wong reiterated the Government has so far been successful in liaising with vaccine suppliers to import an extra supply of more than 40,000 doses of flu shots.

The centre also said preliminary results collected from its collaborations with private medical practitioners show the influenza vaccine offers about 40% protection against laboratory-confirmed influenza infections for the 2017-18 flu season.