'Children Still Need To Be Fully Vaccinated'

An associate professor in paediatrics on Saturday said that vulnerable members of the population including children and the elderly should still get their three vaccinations even though the pandemic is deemed over.

Speaking to reporters after attending a radio programme, Mike Kwan of the University of Hong Kong said that a majority of adults have already received their full vaccinations, but only around 30 percent of children are vaccinated. He also said that as a result, mostly those under the age of three are being hospitalised from infections.

“I encountered many children that in fact didn’t receive the Covid and the flu vaccines so this explains why at the present moment, although we are seeing that the pandemic is already gone, the susceptible individuals still include the children and the elderly,” he said.

He said that young children may experience difficulties breathing after being infected so it is important to seek treatment immediately. Kwan also said that the number of respiratory syncytial virus cases have increased among children, despite it being a virus commonly seen in the wintertime.

“The main problem of the prevalence of the RSV at this moment is because in the past three years, all the population, we have had very strict social distancing and also we wear masks,” he said.

“Our children have no chance in contact with the RSV virus, the respiratory syncytial virus, but this is why now at this moment, after we relax all the social distancing measures and we are not wearing face masks, so this why they contracted the virus from the kindergartens or from the community.”

The paediatrician said that aside from getting updated vaccinations, people should continue to be mindful of good hygiene practices to reduce the risk of infection.