Hong Kong authorities have defended the city’s childhood vaccination programme after the United States scaled back its immunisation recommendations, stressing that public health policies should not be “arbitrarily altered”.
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said on Tuesday that all public health policies and medical recommendations had to be based on scientific evidence.
“Vaccination schedules should not be altered arbitrarily without reliable scientific data or medical research supporting such changes, in order to avoid posing significant and irreversible public health risks to children,” it said.
Under the Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme (HKCIP), children from birth to Primary Six are required to receive vaccines and boosters against 11 diseases – tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal infection, chickenpox, measles, mumps and rubella.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations are also available for eligible primary school girls to prevent cervical cancer under the programme.
“Since delaying vaccinations reduces protection against relevant infectious diseases, the CHP reminds parents to arrange for their children to receive vaccinations in accordance with the HKCIP to ensure comprehensive and timely protection,” the centre said.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, recommending vaccination against respiratory syncytial virus monoclonal antibodies, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal B, meningococcal ACWY, and dengue only for “certain high-risk groups or populations”.
While vaccines against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B, pneumococcal disease, HPV, and varicella remained recommended for all children, the order also phased out the combined inoculation for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) into three separate medical visits.
The US federal government would also seek to challenge any state laws that required children to be vaccinated before going to school, the executive order said, alleging that such legislation had violated “statutory obligations related to parental authority, religious freedom, disability accommodation, and equal protection under the law”.
In Hong Kong, the parents of a baby placed under the guardianship of the Social Welfare Department applied for a legal order last month to review the custody decision, expressing “fear and anger” over the authorities’ arrangements to have the boy, Danny, vaccinated.
The parents said the department’s decision to vaccinate Danny had prompted them to apply for a writ of habeas corpus from the High Court, saying the “medical intervention” was against their wishes.
The centre said the government highly acknowledged the value of vaccination.
“Thanks to the trust and support of parents, schools and healthcare professionals towards the HKCIP over the years, immunisation coverage has remained extremely high, successfully keeping the incidence of related childhood infectious diseases in Hong Kong at extremely low levels,” centre controller Dr Edwin Tsui Lok-kin said.
The government also defended the effectiveness of combination vaccines for MMR and measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV), saying that they were proven to be safe and effective, with the ability to provide sufficient protection.
“In addition, combination vaccines have the advantage of reducing the number of injections children need to receive and significantly lowering the risk of missed doses. These combination vaccines are currently widely used around the world,” it said. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
