The Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases recommended that the priority groups for receiving the seasonal influenza vaccine in the 2023-24 season be the same as the last season.

They include health care workers, persons aged 50 years or above, pregnant women, residents of residential care homes, persons with chronic medical problems, children and adolescents aged 6 months to under 18 years, poultry workers, as well as pig farmers and pig-slaughtering industry personnel.

The panel noted that local seasonal influenza activity has started to increase since March this year, and exceeded the baseline threshold in early April, indicating the arrival of the influenza season in Hong Kong.

“As the local seasonal influenza activity remained at low levels over the past three years, immunity against influenza in the local community as a whole may be relatively weaker than in the past.

“Given that the seasonal influenza vaccine offers protection against influenza and its complications, all members of the public, except those with known contraindications, should receive seasonal influenza vaccine annually for personal protection,” it said.

The panel also said Covid-19 vaccines can be co-administered with the seasonal influenza vaccine for members of the public with consent at the same time for administrative convenience and achieving better coverage.