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Following is a question by the Hon Audrey Eu and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Gabriel Leung, in the Legislative Council today (March 17):
Question:
The Government earlier spent $237 million to purchase three million doses of Human Swine Influenza (HSI) vaccine, of which only about 180,000 doses have been administered as at March 1. Moreover, it has been reported that the World Health Organisation has formed a preliminary view earlier that the HSI outbreak had passed its worst stage, and the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection has also admitted that the progress of HSI vaccination in Hong Kong is unsatisfactory and a large surplus of vaccines is expected. It has also been reported that at present, many European and American countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, etc have one after another requested pharmaceutical manufacturers to reduce the supply of such vaccines, or have sold the surplus vaccines to other countries in need. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the existing stock of vaccines and their total value, and how the authorities plan to dispose of the vaccines, so as to ensure the optimal use of public funds;
(b) whether it has assessed the public's acceptance level of the vaccination, so as to estimate the ultimate amount of surplus vaccines, and whether it has followed the practice of some European and American countries with a view to disposing of the surplus vaccines properly; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) whether the authorities have learnt their lesson from this exercise of vaccine procurement, so as to improve the policy on vaccine procurement in the future; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government has launched the Human Swine Influenza (HSI) Vaccination Programme since December 21, 2009 with the primary objective of reducing the chance of complications, hospitalisation and deaths among high-risk people after they have been infected with the disease.
To implement the HSI Vaccination Programme, we procured three million doses of HSI vaccine at the cost of $79 per dose in accordance with established tender procedures. Among the vaccines procured, 2.5 million doses are intended for five target groups who are at higher risk, namely chronic patients and pregnant women, children aged between six months and less than six years, elderly aged 65 and above, healthcare workers and pig farmers and pig-slaughtering industry personnel. At the same time, the Government has reserved 500,000 doses of HSI vaccine for those who do not belong to these target groups but who wish to get vaccinated so that they may seek vaccination in private clinics at their own cost.
Our decision to procure the HSI vaccines was made on the basis that we had to prepare for the most conservative scenario in the development of the pandemic. We have foreseen that some of the vaccines may be left unused if the pandemic eventually turns out to be not severe. I want to emphasise that the Government's procurement of the vaccines is intended as a necessary insurance to safeguard public health in case there is a serious outbreak in Hong Kong. To safeguard public health, we need to purchase enough vaccines to protect the more vulnerable groups in the population against HSI and its complications.
Since the end of last year, the Department of Health has been publicising the HSI Vaccination Programme through a series of publicity activities, such as distribution of leaflets and broadcasting of announcements of public interest on TV and radio. We have also clearly explained to the public the potential risks of vaccination and provided them with timely update on such information as the latest development of pandemic both locally and worldwide, and the adverse events with history of HSI vaccination. Such efforts are aimed at ensuring information transparency and providing the public with adequate information for their consideration so that they can decide whether to get vaccinated. The ultimate decision to get vaccinated rests with members of the public. Vaccination is voluntary under the entire HSI Vaccination Programme. The actual vaccination rate can be affected by a number of factors, including changes in the pandemic, the number of severe and fatal cases, and the public's understanding as to the safety of the vaccine, etc.
Although we have received reports of two confirmed cases of patients developing Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) with history of HSI vaccination since the HSI Vaccination Programme was launched, the Expert Group on Serious Adverse Events following Human Swine Influenza Vaccination under the Centre for Health Protection has pointed out after having studied these cases that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has to date found no evidence suggesting a causal relationship between GBS and HSI vaccination and the reported number of GBS cases worldwide has not exceeded the usual background rates prior to the introduction of such vaccines. As a matter of fact, according to HSI vaccination data from around the world, the safety of HSI vaccine has been confirmed and its side effects are on the whole relatively mild. For those high-risk groups recommended for vaccination by the scientific committees in particular, the benefits of protection they will get from HSI vaccination will outweigh any possible adverse vaccine effect.
Up to March 14, 2010 since the HSI Vaccination Programme was launched, more than 185, 000 doses of HSI vaccine have been administered to the target groups. Currently, there are roughly 2.75 million doses of HSI vaccines in stock. Maintaining this stockpile of vaccines is considered crucial in the coming few months as it can provide an assurance for public health protection and ensure the availability of sufficient vaccines for use once the pandemic has worsened. Under such circumstances, we do not have any plan to donate or sell the vaccines to other places at this stage.
In fact, vaccination is only one of the preventive and control measures we have launched. At the same time, we have enhanced our virus surveillance in the community especially at schools and residential care homes, continued to implement public health measures at boundary control points, actively promoting protective measures at individual and community levels, use of antiviral drugs, and have made necessary preparations and contingency planning for treatment. All these measures are aimed at reducing the incidence rate, chance of hospitalisation and mortality rate of HSI infections, and the overall impact to Hong Kong.
President, as at March 14, 2010, there were 73 HSI fatal cases and 262 severe cases of HSI infection, and 179 patients were admitted into the intensive care unit. It is still unpredictable whether the constant mutation of the virus will result in a more severe pandemic or whether there will be a second or a third wave of HSI pandemic. As such, we must stay vigilant. The Government will continue to closely monitor the development of the pandemic in Hong Kong and other places in the world as well as the vaccination coverage to ensure that our preventive and control measures can achieve the best result.
Ends/Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Issued at HKT 14:53
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