Health chief defends decision to name and shame schools refusing vaccine drive

Hong Kong’s health chief on Monday defended the Department of Health’s decision to name and shame schools refusing to participate in the city’s vaccine drive, saying it is the authorities' responsibility to tell citizens the truth.

In a rare move last week, the department revealed a list of 168 schools that refused to arrange seasonal influenza vaccination outreach activities for students.

Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said today that there are schools that ignored the department’s multiple calls to join the outreach program.

The department is responsible for letting parents know that their schools had not participated in the vaccination drive so that they can look for alternatives for their children, he said, emphasizing that the move was to protect students’ health.

Meanwhile, Lo said “it is never too late” in getting the flu jabs, calling on schools to provide parents with another choice for their children to get jabbed. He also said the department will assist parents in need.