HK Health Officials Wary Of Anti-vaccine Movement

The Center for Health Protection says it's monitoring whether there's any sign that the anti-vaccination movement is gaining traction in Hong Kong.

Vaccination rates in the SAR have traditionally been high, but Albert Au, from the centre's Communicable Disease Division, says the World Health Organization has identified reluctance to vaccinate as one of this year's global health threats.

Au says there's no room for complacency and the Centre will work to dispel misconceptions about vaccines.

"In Hong Kong we notice that the coverage of various vaccinations has been maintained at a very high level over 95 percent over the years," Au said.

He added that officials would continue to closely monitor immunisation coverage, including the percentage of parents who refuse vaccinations for their children.

There's been a sharp rise in measles around the world as a result of opposition to vaccines. Some parents believe the wrong message

Health experts say the virus, which can cause severe complications and even death, has spread mostly among school-age children whose parents declined to get them vaccinated.

Most profess philosophical or religious reasons or cite concerns - debunked by medical science - that the three-way measles-mumps-rubella vaccine may cause autism.

The number of measles cases worldwide nearly quadrupled in the first quarter of 2019 to 112,163 compared with the same period last year, the World Health Organization said last week.

Last updated: 2019-04-22 HKT 03:10