HONG KONG: The government is being urged to take more proactive initiatives to buoy up public confidence in swine flu vaccine. Turnout for flu shots has been poor and there are fears that the second wave of the bug is on its way. But reports of adverse reactions to the vaccine have left many people fearful that the "remedy" may be worse than the sickness.

Since the first case of human swine flu was reported in Hong Kong at the beginning of last May, 34, 964 had tested positive for the virus as of January 20. Victims ranged in age from 10 days to 95 years. Sixty fatal cases have been recorded.

Kwok Ka-kei, a urologist, notes with concern a steady increase in the number of deaths among younger people infected by the H1N1 virus.

"We see a continued decrease of influenza activity in the US, Canada, Europe and Japan. However, there are more fatal cases of younger patients with human swine flu infection than before," Kwok noted.

"Previously, only elderly and people who suffer from chronic illness died from influenza. But since the H1N1 virus has grown stronger, more patients aged 40-50 without chronic illness have become seriously sick or have died," Kwok said. "The trend is worrisome and we need to keep an eye on the situation."

Kwok acknowledged public confidence was dented further after five pregnant women suffered miscarriages and stillbirths subsequent to receiving humans swine flu vaccines. "The public was overwhelmed by the non-stop negative reports of the vaccine and it surely caused panic," Kwok said. "Miscarriages and stillbirths do happen, and vaccines may not be the cause of the misfortunes. The media should not overly accentuate the situation."

Nonetheless, Kwok admitted that the government has not done enough to boost public confidence in the vaccination program.

"The second wave of infection is out there. The Lunar New Year is a critical moment. We expect more people will come down with the H1N1 virus around the festival," Kwok said.

However, Lo Wing-lok, an infectious disease specialist, believes the situation can be held under control. "Fifty-four percent of people under the age of 15 have antibodies against the H1N1 virus. It is doubtful if it will cause a large-scale epidemic in Hong Kong," Lo said.

"Also, most of the people who were born before 1957 have antibodies already because there was a similar influenza virus back then, which stopped afterwards. Therefore, people aged between 40 and 50 have become the most vulnerable group now," Lo told China Daily.

As of yesterday, at least 150,421 human swine flu vaccines have been administered to the six target groups since the implementation of the program on December 21 last year, which means there are still 2.85 million doses left.

"The government should consider holding seminars for the public by the medical professionals rather than throwing money at advertisements," Kwok advised. "Go to the schools and care centers and teach them the pros and cons of taking human swine flu jabs. It is likely that people will be more at ease and consider taking the vaccines."

(HK Edition 01/28/2010 page1)