Shanghai CDC urges flu shots before arrival of peak season
A nurse at SinoUnited Health prepares a flu shot for a man on Tuesday.
The Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention said the peak season for influenza in autumn and winter is expected to arrive soon and local residents should start making reservations to receive flu vaccination for protection.
The Chinese National Influenza Center said the latest monitoring has found that the positive rate of flu virus detection in certain provinces in the south has seen a small rise and the prevalent strain is type A flu with H3N2 sub-type, while the prevalence of flu in the north remains at a low level.
The Shanghai CDC published a scientific education article on its public WeChat account on Tuesday, saying vaccination is an effective measure to prevent flu and reduce serious cases and mortality related to the disease.
The flu shots are highly recommended for eight kinds of people: medical staff; people participating and serving large events; those working in nursing homes and welfare homes for the elderly; teachers and students of kindergartens, primary and middle schools; elderly people; children between six months and 5 years old and their carers; chronic disease patients; and pregnant women or females who have plans for pregnancy.
The Shanghai CDC revealed that some medical facilities in the city have already started giving the flu shots. Local residents can reserve the service through government-run apps like Suishenban and Jiankangyun and mini programs of Alipay and WeChat for reservation and registration or consult vaccination clinics of nearby neighborhood health centers and medical facilities.
Antibody is generated two to four weeks after vaccination and the protection duration is six to eight months. Even if people have received the flu vaccination last year, the CDC suggests they take the injection before the arrival of this year's flu season.
Officials from SinoUnited Health, an international medical facility, said it has received nearly 3,000 reservations for flu shots since mid-August and over 1,230 people, including adults and children, had received the injection. About 35 percent of them were foreigners.
Dr Alex Gu, a general physician from the facility, said flu and COVID-19 may also overlap this year. According to a research study published in the science journal Nature, flu shots can provide some protection against COVID-19.
Officials from Shanghai Yida Hospital said both Chinese and expatriates can reserve their flu vaccination after which the hospital will arrange the injection.
