At the Legislative Council panel on health services yesterday, Undersecretary for Food and Health Gabriel Leung said the anticipated winter peak for swine flu has yet to arrive, as the pandemic has upset the pattern.

He warned that the peaks of the swine flu outbreak would be different from those of seasonal flu and explained the cautious approach.

"At present, the situation is moderate, but the virus is ever-changing and there may be a second or even third wave of the swine flu pandemic.

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"We cannot afford to be complacent," he said.

Lawmakers Audrey Eu Yuet-mee and Gary Chan Hak-kan expressed concern about an oversupply of jabs since Leung had said the vaccines will not be sold or given away, nor will the scope of the subsidized jabs scheme for high- risk groups be extended.

In reply, Leung said there must be enough supply of the swine flu vaccine just in case.

Of the three million doses the government has bought, 160,000 have been administered so far - an average of around 2,000 doses a day since the scheme was implemented.

However, Leung said the number of jabs administered fluctuates from 2,000 to 10,000 a day.

"Therefore we have decided to keep the vaccines as we don't want to dispose of them and have a shortfall when they are needed," he said.

Leung reiterated that a group of experts has found no direct relation between the vaccine and stillbirths among women who received the jab.

"Pregnant women and their families are caught between a rock and a hard place. If they don't take the vaccine, they may have to suffer the complications of swine flu. Some may need to be hospitalized, while others may suffer severe outcomes," he said.

According to Leung, the figures in Hong Kong up till January 31 show there are 359 confirmed cases of pregnant women suffering from swine flu, 204 of whom need to be hospitalized - a rate of 57 percent, four times higher than the 12 percent rate for women of the same age who are not pregnant.