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How well did flu shots protect Hong Kong during last winter surge?
Would the appropriate person in the government please provide us with an independent assessment of the efficacy of the influenza vaccine over the last winter flu season?
I understand that the vaccine may only protect against some of the strains of influenza that are predicted each season by the World Health Organisation.
The kind of information that needs to be made public is the number of people who were vaccinated, the number who were vaccinated but contracted those strains of influenza, those who were not vaccinated and contracted these strains, those who contracted any other strain of influenza – whether they had been vaccinated or not, and the number of people who became ill as a result of being vaccinated.
For each category, the extent of suffering, such as hospitalisation or death, should also be publicised – as also the total cost to the government and private patients.
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There are advocates of compulsory vaccination, so it is essential that this, or similar, information be provided before any further consideration is given to this suggestion.
Most importantly, the information must be obtained independently of the pharmaceutical industry.
S.P. Li, Lantau
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