Brace yourselves for flu and Covid onslaught: expert
A medical expert said on Wednesday that the public need to stay vigilant this winter as Hong Kong is expected to see a surge in respiratory infections, including flu and Covid-19. Professor Ivan Hung from the department of medicine at the University of Hong Kong advised people to get jabs ahead of the flu season, which will last from around February to April.  He said vulnerable people, including the elderly, children and the chronically ill, need to stay alert and maintain good hygiene. "For Covid, important is that once they have the symptoms, they should do a rapid test and if proven to be Covid positive, they should get the antiviral treatment as soon as possible. Don't wait until you get worse, best is to get the treatment as soon as possible before you deteriorate," Hung said. "For those who are in the general population, I think the personal hygiene is very important. Hand washing and alcohol hand rubs are very important. I think for masking, it is only indicative for those who are really high risk and in crowded areas, but not for the rest of the population." Meanwhile, President of the Hong Kong Society for Infectious Diseases Ada Lin said a global survey suggests that 70 percent of people classed as "high-risk" for Covid are not aware that they are extra vulnerable, while 40 percent of people will only seek prescription medicines if they are very ill.  "The survey results show that some people are not willing to seek medical help or not willing to take prescribed medication because they could be concerned about the side-effects of the medication, or they do not consider themselves to be high-risk, or high-risk of developing complications from respiratory infections," she said. Lin said people shouldn't take respiratory infections lightly.  "After Covid, we are all getting very tired and the world is getting back to normal, so it's very important for all of us to remain vigilant among the risk of Covid as well as all other respiratory infections," she said. "We will urge the government to continue the publicity for the potential severity of severe infection for Covid and other respiratory infections, as well as maintain contact and collaboration with healthcare professionals to help the public to get the medication early."