Govt injects urgency into flu jabs

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-31 09:20

With the country bracing for a surge in A(H1N1) flu infections in the coming months, China's top epidemiologist is urging more people to be inoculated against the disease.

A medical worker from the Suzhou center for disease control and prevention in Jiangsu province prepares H1N1 vaccines. The country has stepped up efforts to inoculate the public as the number of infections increases. Su Min

"If people do not have themselves vaccinated now, there will be endless troubles in the future," Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview with Xinhua.

"With the number of patients with severe symptoms growing, China's medical treatment capacity, such as its equipment and personnel, will face huge challenges. We need to prepare in advance," Zeng said.

China will likely see its peak of H1N1 flu outbreaks during the winter and spring.

China's Minister of Health, Chen Zhu, warned in a speech on Friday there would be large-scale serious cases or deaths in China if the country failed to introduce effective preventive and control measures.

Liang Wannian, deputy director of the health emergency office under the Ministry of Health (MOH), said on Thursday the H1N1 virus was responsible for nearly 80 percent of China's total flu infections now and most of the mass cases were happening in schools.

"As the weather keeps getting colder, many regions are entering the traditional period of possible flu outbreaks, and prevention and control work is becoming tougher," Liang said during an online interview with the official website of the Chinese government.

According to Liang, as of Wednesday, 1,502 mass infections had been reported in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions on the Chinese mainland. Some 96.4 percent of those had happened in schools.

Liang said the country will act faster to provide vaccines for more people because that is the most effective way to protect vulnerable groups and prevent sick patients from deteriorating.

So far, around 400,000 people in China have been inoculated with the H1N1 vaccine and no serious adverse reactions have been reported.

On Wednesday, Beijing reported the death of a university student from H1N1, the fourth reported fatality on the Chinese mainland.

Liang revealed that, based on clinical experiments, at least 85 percent of people receiving the vaccine will get protection from the virus. That protection will continue throughout the winter and into the spring.

So far, side effects of the vaccine were slight and included occasional fever and exhaustion. The MOH said the benefits are "far greater" than the problems.

"No vaccine is totally risk-free," Liang said.

Statistics from the ministry show the mainland had 42,009 confirmed cases of H1N1 by 3 pm Wednesday.

A total of 30,854 patients had recovered. Twenty-two of 66 patients previously reported to be in a serious condition had regained their health, the ministry said.

Zeng said much of the technology used in China's H1N1 vaccine was tried and tested because it has been used for years in regular flu vaccine. "They are mature technologies," he said.

An ongoing survey organized by China Daily and sohu.com suggested that more than 54 percent of 3,000 respondents did not plan to get the vaccination because of concerns about safety.

"I wish I could test the vaccine for my son," said a mother surnamed Zhou who did not know whether to let her 6-year-old son get the injection. "I am worried about the potential health hazards since it has yet to be thoroughly tested."

"My friends and I haven't felt any side-effects," said Shi Xiaoning, a postgraduate student at Renmin University.

Shi and his classmates, participants in the National Day Parade on Oct 1, received their jabs at the end of September.

China Daily-Xinhua