Hong Kong Warns Unvaccinated Kids and Elderly Face 5x Flu Risk

Hong Kong's top health official issued a blunt warning on Saturday: people who skip the flu vaccine — especially young children and the elderly — are four to five times more likely to end up with serious complications or die from the flu. Director of Health Ronald Lam Man-kin said infections in the city have been rising steadily since June and were still at a high level as of last week.

The numbers behind the warning are striking. About 13 per cent of lab samples tested positive for flu, slightly up from 12 per cent at the same time last year. More importantly, hospital admissions and doctor visits for flu hit 0.83 cases per 10,000 people — roughly three times last year's 0.27. About 80 per cent of those cases were influenza A, one of the main flu strains that circulates each winter and tends to hit hardest.

Children have been hit particularly badly. Hong Kong has recorded 19 severe flu cases in children this year, including one death. Eight of those cases involved children aged five or younger who had not been vaccinated. Young children and older adults have weaker immune defences, which is why the virus can move from a few days of fever to pneumonia, breathing trouble or worse so quickly.

The practical takeaway is simple. Flu vaccines are not perfect — they don't stop every infection — but they reliably make illness milder and dramatically cut the odds of landing in hospital. The official's message is aimed at parents and families caring for elderly relatives: getting the shot is less about protecting yourself and more about keeping the most vulnerable people around you out of danger. Health authorities say the current surge is expected to continue, so timing matters.