Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ20: Immunisation services
Following is a question by the Hon Martin Lee and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (June 21):
Question:
Regarding the immunisation of babies with the (i) diphtheria, pertussis and
tetanus vaccine, (ii) poliomyelitis vaccine, and (iii) measles, mumps and
rubella vaccine at the maternal and child health centres under the Department of
Health, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) among the babies born in each of the past 10 years, of the respective
numbers and percentages of those who were immunised with the above vaccines;
(b) among the babies born in Hong Kong in each of the past three years to
mothers who were not Hong Kong residents, of the respective numbers and
percentages of those who were immunised with the above vaccines;
(c) among the babies born in Hong Kong in each of the past three years to the
mainland wives of Hong Kong residents, of the respective numbers and percentages
of those who were immunised with the above vaccines; whether it has studied if
there are discrepancies between such percentages and those of the babies born to
Hong Kong residents during the period, the factors leading to such discrepancies
and the impact on the future health of the babies;
(d) whether it knows how those women who are not local residents and have not
received antenatal and post-natal care at the maternal and child health centres
can obtain the information about the immunisation of babies, and whether it will
consider placing materials containing such information in the public and private
hospitals;
(e) whether it knows if the babies who have not been immunised with the above
vaccines in Hong Kong will be vaccinated after their mothers, who are not local
residents, bring them back to the Mainland, and the incidence rates of the
relevant diseases among those babies who have not been immunised; whether it has
assessed the impact on the health profile of the Hong Kong population and the
demand for medical and social services when the babies who have contracted the
relevant diseases in the Mainland return to settle in Hong Kong in the future;
and
(f) whether it will adopt measures to ensure that at least 95% of the babies
born in Hong Kong are immunised with the above vaccines; if so, of the details
of the measures; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
The Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHC) under the Department of Health (DH)
provide a continuum of services including prenatal and postnatal services for
women and immunisation services for infants and children.
The immunisation services of the DH were developed according to the principles
laid down under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation of the World Health
Organisation. The service targets are infants and school children up to Primary
Six with an aim to protect them from nine childhood infectious diseases, namely,
tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus,
measles, mumps and rubella.
Babies born in Hong Kong to fathers or mothers who are either Chinese nationals
or Hong Kong permanent residents can obtain free immunisation services at the
MCHCs. In other words, children born in Hong Kong to non-local residents who are
Chinese nationals can receive free immunisation services. As for antenatal or
postnatal services provided in the MCHCs, non-eligible persons have to pay for
the services while Hong Kong permanent residents can obtain the services free of
charge.
Generally, babies born in Hong Kong will be immunised with B.C.G. Vaccine, Polio
Type I and the first dose of Hepatitis B Vaccine in the first few days after
birth in hospitals. After their newborn babies have been discharged from
hospitals, parents can take them to the MCHCs for immunisation with vaccines for
children aged from one month to 1 1/2 years (such as Diphtheria, Pertussis and
Tetanus vaccine). They may also choose to take their children to a private
doctor for immunisation. As for Primary One and Six school children, the DH's
School Immunisation Teams will visit primary schools throughout the territory to
administer the vaccination.
My replies to the questions asked are as follows:
(a), (b), (c) and (f) The immunisation services in Hong Kong are mainly provided
by the MCHCs, with a small proportion of parents choosing to take their children
to private doctors for the services. As DH does not maintain any statistical
data concerning the immunisation services provided by the latter, we are unable
to provide the respective numbers and percentages of newborn babies immunised
with the above vaccines in each year. The MCHCs also do not have any statistical
data on the utilisation of immunisation services by children born to non-local
residents or babies born in Hong Kong to the Mainland wives of Hong Kong
residents.
However, in order to gauge the prevalence of immunisation received among babies
and young children in Hong Kong, the DH conducts regular sampling surveys on the
immunisation received by children in child care centres and kindergartens. In
addition, as an established practice, the School Immunisation Teams of the DH
also collect routine statistics on immunisation received by primary school
children. These figures reveal that in the past 10 years, the immunisation of
the babies and infants in Hong Kong with the diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus
vaccine, poliomyelitis vaccine and measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has
reached an average coverage rate of over 96%, which is one of the places with
the highest immunisation coverage rate in the world.
(d) Close liaison has been maintained between the MCHCs and obstetrics
departments of various hospitals in Hong Kong. The MCHCs would provide their
latest information, including their services and their addresses in different
districts, for new mothers through the hospitals prior to their discharge. The
mothers are also reminded by the hospitals to take their newborn babies to the
MCHCs for the immunisation services as soon as practicable.
(e) Different places will develop different immunisation programmes in light of
their epidemiological profiles. We understand that the Mainland health
authorities will arrange children of the appropriate age, including those of the
floating population, for vaccination in accordance with the immunisation
programmes of the individual provinces. Generally speaking, since both Hong Kong
and the Mainland have developed their immunisation programmes according to the
standards of the World Health Organisation, the programmes of the two places are
in general similar to each other. As for the incidence rates of the relevant
diseases in the Mainland among those babies who have not been immunised, we do
not have such statistics.
Before the babies are discharged from hospitals, hospitals would remind their
parents to take them for vaccination according to schedule. For parents who
intend to arrange for their babies to stay long in the Mainland, the MCHCs would
remind them of the need to arrange for their babies to receive the relevant
immunisation in their place of residence according to the local immunisation
programme, and attach the reminder slips to their babies' immunisation cards. We
also understand that though some babies born locally are not living in the
territory most of the time, their families will take them to Hong Kong for
vaccinations regularly. Besides, in the course of administering immunisation to
primary school children, the School Immunisation Teams of the DH will ensure
that the school children have received vaccinations according to schedule and
that vaccinations, if missed, will be re-administered for school children where
necessary.
The DH has put in place a mechanism to monitor the incidence of relevant
diseases among babies who once lived in the Mainland but have returned to settle
in Hong Kong. Information from the monitoring system on statutory notifiable
diseases shows that reports of vaccine preventable diseases have, up to now,
remained at the low end, and therefore has little impact on the overall health
situation and medical and social services of Hong Kong. We will continue to keep
a close watch on the movement of the figures and take appropriate actions where
necessary.
Ends/Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Issued at HKT 12:39
NNNN