Director of Health says vaccination rate for winter flu season reaches record high
發佈日期: 2026-01-11 22:28
TVB News
The vaccination rate for this winter flu season has reached a record high.
Speaking on a TVB News programme, Director of Health Ronald Lam said it is still early to say if this could mitigate the flu activity at peak level. However, he believes the immunity of the vaccines should be able to last until the end of the winter flu season.
As the summer influenza season has concluded, Director of Health Ronald Lam told TVB News that it remains uncertain when the winter flu season will arrive, which typically occurs from January to March.
Factors influencing this include frequency of overall social contact and vaccination rate.
He noted that vaccination rate for this winter flu season has reached a record high of 1.91 million doses.
If the virus does not mutate, does that mean the impact of the winter flu peak will be reduced?
"If the vaccination coverage is high enough and the vaccine antigens match the circulating virus strains, the impact will be lower," Lam said.
"Currently, most of the data indicates that the predominant strain is the H3 subtype. Often, winter virus strains may include H3 and H1, and sometimes influenza B. The flu vaccines we are administering to the public cover these strains," Lam explained.
As to whether a booster shot will be necessary for people who got vaccinated early in September, Lam assured that the immunity from the vaccine administrated by the government can last for about six months.
