THE city will receive 800,000 doses of A/H1N1 flu vaccine, a fifth of the first batch ready for distribution, according to the city’s center for disease control and prevention (CDC) Friday.
The first batch of 4 million doses began distribution Sept. 10 in eight provinces, including Guangdong. They will be used for emergency vaccination and for vulnerable groups, such as students, the elderly and the ill, said Ma Hanwu, vice director of the CDC.
The dates the vaccine will arrive and vaccinating will commence haven’t been determined, Ma said.
“But it won’t be long. According to requirements from the Ministry of Health, we will begin as soon as we receive approvals from the upper levels,” said Ma.
According to the current epidemic status, the vaccine will be used first in key areas, such as near checkpoints, and among key groups, such as medical and checkpoint staff, students, the elderly and the sick, to prevent outbreak of the disease in winter time, said Ma.
Vaccinations will be free, he said.
As of Friday, the city’s 30 schools had reported 31 outbreaks involving 140 students since Sept. 1, when the new semester began. Shenzhen has reported 441 flu cases, with nearly two-thirds of those students, including some returning from abroad, the CDC said.
“With the sharp increase of student patients over the past few months, schools should follow stricter precautions to control further outbreak, and we strongly suggest that activities involving large number of students should be put off or canceled,” said Ma.
Meanwhile, the inoculation for seasonal influenza began this month.
“There is no problem injecting the two vaccines because they are totally different,” said Ma. “Under normal condition, residents can inject the A/H1N1 vaccine two weeks after injecting the seasonal influenza vaccine.”
Wang Yuanyuan