Local residents will be able to receive their flu vaccination starting today, but walk-ins won’t be entertained owing to high demand.
The Health Bureau (often called by its Portuguese initials SSM) has announced that those with an online vaccination booking will be prioritised in the fight to control the current surge in flu cases.
Last week, Yeung Chon Kit, a doctor with Macao’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the city had already reached its peak flu season, with the daily number of cases at the Conde St. Januario Hospital in the first week of 2024 averaging 1,029 people.
[See more: Health officials urge residents to get jabbed as flu cases rise]
“Flu season usually occurs between January and March in Macao,” he told local media. “I don’t think it’s too late to get vaccinated now.”
The SSM says it has procured 170,000 doses of vaccination and is prepared to purchase an additional 10,000 doses depending on demand. It also noted that it has almost finished vaccinating those in high-risk groups.
Nursing homes have registered an inoculation rate of over 90 percent, while kindergartens and primary schools saw a figure that reached almost 80 percent, SSM data shows, while children under the age of 3 and people over 65 have a vaccination rate close to 50 percent.
