Press Release

Scientific recommendations on influenza vaccination for 2015-16 season

20 August 2015

A spokesman for the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) announced today (August 20) that the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases (SCVPD) under the CHP has recently reviewed and updated the recommendations on the use of seasonal influenza vaccine for the 2015-16 influenza season.

Given that influenza vaccines are safe and effective and severe cases do occur in previously healthy persons, the SCVPD recommends that all persons except those with known contraindications should receive seasonal influenza vaccine for personal protection. In addition, taking into consideration the local disease burden, scientific evidence and international experiences, the SCVPD recommends the following groups in the community to have higher priority for influenza vaccination in the 2015-16 season:

• pregnant women;
• elderly persons living in residential care homes;
• Long-stay residents of institutions for persons with disabilities;
• persons aged 50 years or above;
• persons with chronic medical problems, including obesity (BMI equal to or more than 30);
• health care workers;
• children aged 6 months to 5 years;
• poultry workers; and
• pig farmers and pig-slaughtering industry personnel.

The SCVPD also recommended that vaccines to be used in the 2015-16 seasonal influenza vaccine (northern hemisphere winter) would comprise:

• A/California/7/2009(H1N1)pdm09-like virus;
• A/Switzerland/9715293/2013 (H3N2)-like virus; and
• B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus.

If quadrivalent influenza vaccine is being used, it should contain the above three viruses and B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.

"Based on local laboratory data on seasonal influenza and surveillance data on severe cases in recent years, it is expected that trivalent influenza vaccine may potentially prevent the majority of influenza burden in Hong Kong, while quadrivalent influenza vaccine may potentially offer additional protection against influenza B," the spokesman said.

"Persons who have already been vaccinated with the 2015 southern hemisphere seasonal influenza vaccine are recommended to receive the 2015-16 seasonal influenza vaccine, preferably with an interval of at least four weeks," the spokesman added.

In addition to receiving influenza vaccination, members of the public are encouraged to observe good personal and environmental hygiene and maintain a healthy lifestyle, in order to prevent influenza:

• Wash hands thoroughly after sneezing or coughing;
• Put on a surgical mask when having respiratory symptoms;
• Maintain good indoor ventilation;
• Avoid visiting crowded or poorly ventilated public places; and
• Maintain a balanced diet, exercise regularly, take adequate rest, and avoid smoking and overstress.

The full version of the SCVPD's recommendations has been uploaded to the CHP website ( www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/short_version_of_recommendations_on_seasonal_influenza_vaccination_for_the_2015_16_final.pdf ).