The Department of Health has listed 168 schools that have refused to arrange seasonal influenza vaccination outreach activities for students, as Hong Kong enters a seasonal outbreak.
The announcement came after the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government revealed in a statement that the total number of vaccine doses administered has seen a year-on-year increase of about 5.4 percent and a significant increase in the number of secondary schools participating in a voluntary vaccination outreach program.
In the statement, Edwin Tsui Lok-kin, controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, said that the city is officially within influenza season, with 90 percent of positive detections being influenza A caused by the H1N1 virus strain.
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The outbreak has yet to reach its peak, and members of the public — particularly high-risk groups such as the elderly and children — should maintain vigilance and arrange to get vaccinated as soon as possible, said Tsui.
Tsui urged the listed schools to set dates for student vaccinations in the next two weeks.
As of Jan 4, the percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for seasonal influenza viruses reached 5.69 percent, and the influenza admission rate in public hospitals was 0.36 cases per 10,000 population — both indicators of a flu season, the threshold levels of which are, respectively, 4.94 percent and 0.27 cases, as defined by the World Health Organization.
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A number of international schools appear on the list, along with various private and semi-private institutions and subsidized schools.
Half of the schools operated by the English Schools Foundation appear on the list — including Beacon Hill School and Discovery College — and five schools operated by Yew Chung International School, as well as the Australian International School Hong Kong, Think International Kindergartens and School, and Shrewsbury International School Hong Kong.
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Other schools listed include St. Paul's Co-Educational College, Diocesan Girls' School, St Mary’s Canossian College, as well as Munsang College.
