Hong Kong flu season expected to peak in February; 15 deaths confirmed

Respiratory medicine expert David Hui calls for more residents to get jabs, notes only 20 per cent of those aged 50 to 64 vaccinated

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Screens showing a flu alert in the accident and emergency department at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 12:23pm, 19 Jan 2025Updated: 2:54pm, 19 Jan 2025

Hong Kong’s winter flu season will peak in early February, a respiratory disease expert has predicted, while 15 deaths in the second week of January have been confirmed to be people infected with influenza.

David Hui Shu-cheong, a professor of respiratory medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, called for more residents to get flu jabs as the vaccination rate across all age groups fell short of the ideal level, with only 20 per cent of those aged 50 to 64 receiving injections.

“The winter influenza season has started in the second week of this year and it normally takes four to six weeks to peak,” Hui told a radio programme on Sunday.

He added that it would take another six to eight weeks for the influenza season to subside after the February peak.

Hong Kong recorded 37 adult cases being admitted to intensive care units and confirmed to be infected with influenza from January 5 to 11, according to the Department of Health.

Fifteen were fatal, while 25 of the cases had not received the 2024-25 seasonal flu vaccine.

Hui noted the admission rate for influenza-related cases in public hospitals was on the rise, with most being children aged five or younger.