Govt must go extra mile on flu shots

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee on Wednesday assured lawmakers that Hong Kong hospitals are well-prepared to handle an anticipated surge in patients during the approaching winter influenza season. She said the Hospital Authority will provide more than 200 more bed-spaces to accommodate flu patients in coming months, on top of an additional 700 temporary beds to be made available especially for the flu season. Concerns over hospital bed shortages are legitimate because the flu vaccination rate is unsatisfactory despite efforts to have more local residents vaccinated. That means the SAR government needs to find more effective ways to spread the word, so to speak, on flu prevention by inoculation.

The Vaccination Subsidy Scheme 2017-18 has been under way since Oct 18. Eligible Hong Kong residents, including pregnant women, elderly aged 65 or above, children aged between 6 months and 12 years, people with intellectual disabilities and Disability Allowance recipients are entitled to a HK$190 government subsidy per dose of seasonal flu vaccination received from private doctors enrolled in the scheme.

There is no question the government has done a lot to make flu vaccine as accessible to local residents of all ages as possible, in addition to informing them as to the importance of being vaccinated, but many people still do not seem motivated to receive an injection at the nearest government clinic or doctor's office. It is believed that some people are genuinely unaware of the flu vaccination; while some others simply don't care. Still, one cannot rule out the possibility that some people honestly don't know where to obtain it. And it is the government's responsibility to fill that knowledge gap somehow.

Internationally renowned author Malcolm Gladwell writes in his best-selling book The Tipping Point that vaccination rates at a university rose considerably after campus maps showing where exactly the clinic that administers vaccination shots is located were posted in student dorms and academic buildings. Hong Kong's unsatisfactory vaccination rate may not be caused by the same missing information exactly but what Gladwell is trying to do with that story is not dictation, either. We need to find out why some people are not keen on receiving flu shots and convince them to change their minds, rather than assume merely offering free shots will do the job.

For example, it is suggested that relevant authorities send professionally trained vaccination teams to local schools and residential estates to literally bring shots to people's door. On the other hand, more publicity campaigns are needed to educate the public about flu prevention by inoculation. No precaution is too much when it comes to public health, especially when the threat at hand is contagious.

(HK Edition 11/30/2017 page7)