An unvaccinated 19-month-old boy is in critical condition due to severe pediatric influenza as the Centre for Health Protection urged members of the public to get their flu shots to minimize the risk of serious complications and death after infection.

A CHP spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday night that the boy was being treated in the pediatric intensive care unit of Kwong Wah Hospital after he developed a fever and cough on Jan 30.

“His nasopharyngeal swab specimen was tested positive for the influenza A (H1) virus upon laboratory testing. The clinical diagnosis was influenza A infection complicated with severe pneumonia," the spokesman was quoted in the statement as saying.

The boy’s infection brought to nine the number of cases of severe influenza virus infection in children since the start of this flu season in early January, the spokesman said, adding that seven of the nine children who got sick were unvaccinated.

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The spokesman said the boy had no travel history during the incubation period and an initial investigation showed that he did not get the jab against the seasonal flu.

He added that the seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) coverage rate for children aged 6 months to under 2 years remained relatively low at about 20.9 percent as of Jan 26.

Although slightly higher than that of the same period last year, it was still lower than that of other age groups of children, the spokesman said.

To boost the vaccination rate, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has opened the Department of Health's Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) to all children aged 6 months to under 2 years to get their jabs.

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“All persons aged 6 months and above (except those with known contraindications) who have not yet received SIV should act immediately, particularly the elderly and children who have a higher risk of becoming infected with influenza and developing complications," the spokesman said.