Chief Executive John Lee called on residents to get their flu vaccinations ahead of the flu season, adding he led his team to get their shots on Wednesday morning.

On his official Facebook page, Lee noted that vaccines are the one of the most effective ways to prevent seasonal flu and its complications.

It can also help reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death due to flu, he added.

Lee also said the government had rolled out a series of measures to make it more convenient for residents to get their flu shots.

One is increasing the number of influenza vaccines doses to 300,000 under the Pilot Scheme on Vaccine Procurement for Doctors — from 100,000.

Authorities also expanded the eligibility of doctors who participate in the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme, as part of efforts to build up the community's immunity, he added.

Echoing Lee, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said that various Seasonal Influenza Vaccination (SIV) programmes had fully commenced on September 17th to offer free or subsidised SIV services for eligible persons.

"Since it takes about two weeks after receiving an SIV for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against influenza, I strongly urge members of the public to get vaccinated early," he said.

The government said that more than 2.03 million doses of vaccines were administered under various SIV programmes in the 2025-26 financial year, with the overall coverage rates of target populations remaining similar to those of the previous year.

Specifically, the vaccination rate for people aged six months to under 18 years reached 64.8 percent, 13.1 percentage points higher than the average rate recorded in the past three seasons.

Meanwhile, the vaccination rate for adolescents aged 12 to under 18 years reached 61.4 percent, 22.6 percentage points higher than the average rate over the prior three seasons.


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Last updated: 2026-09-23 HKT 16:39



Edited by Tony Sabine