Hong Kong health authorities have warned of a prolonged flu season after more than 600 outbreaks were recorded across local schools since the start of the new academic term.
The alert came as Director of Health Ronald Lam Man-kin and Centre for Health Protection (CHP) Controller Edwin Tsui Lok-kin inspected the Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Outreach Programme at Kiangsu & Chekiang Primary School (International Section) on Tuesday morning.
According to the latest figures, the ongoing summer flu season has resulted in 677 outbreaks across the city’s schools as of Monday (Oct 27), including 369 in primary schools and 237 in secondary schools.
The surge has led to 14 severe cases, including one fatality. Notably, 11 of the affected children—aged between two and 17—had no pre-existing health conditions.
Tsui cautioned that influenza activity is expected to remain high in the coming weeks and may overlap with the winter flu season, potentially increasing the number of hospital admissions.
In response, Lam said vaccination efforts are being stepped up, noting that 23 schools have rescheduled their outreach vaccination sessions to earlier dates.
The program has seen growing participation, with approximately 2,300 schools—representing 99 percent of all schools in Hong Kong—taking part this year. So far, about 980 schools have completed vaccinations, while another 2,190 are expected to do so by the end of November.
Despite the administration of more than 1 million flu vaccine doses this season—a 5.4 percent increase compared with the same period last year—Lam expressed concern over the low vaccination rate among children aged six months to two years, which currently stands at only 10 percent.
Amid rising case numbers, Lam urged schools that originally planned vaccinations in December to move them forward as soon as possible.
