Via The Standard: Complacency the biggest enemy in swine flu battle. Excerpt:
Fears of a second or third wave of the human swine flu (H1N1) pandemic have prompted health chiefs to stockpile vaccines and warn against complacency.
At the Legislative Council panel on health services yesterday, Undersecretary for Food and Health Gabriel Leung said the anticipated winter peak for swine flu has yet to arrive, as the pandemic has upset the pattern.
He warned that the peaks of the swine flu outbreak would be different from those of seasonal flu and explained the cautious approach.
"At present, the situation is moderate, but the virus is ever-changing and there may be a second or even third wave of the swine flu pandemic.
"We cannot afford to be complacent," he said.
Lawmakers Audrey Eu Yuet-mee and Gary Chan Hak-kan expressed concern about an oversupply of jabs since Leung had said the vaccines will not be sold or given away, nor will the scope of the subsidized jabs scheme for high- risk groups be extended.
In reply, Leung said there must be enough supply of the swine flu vaccine just in case.
Of the three million doses the government has bought, 160,000 have been administered so far - an average of around 2,000 doses a day since the scheme was implemented.
