Hong Kong may enter its summer flu season earlier than usual this year, with health authorities warning that the peak could arrive later this month. Edwin Tsui Lok-kin said influenza activity in Hong Kong had increased since May, and urged unvaccinated residents to get flu jabs for protection.
The warning matters now because the timing has shifted from expectation to urgency. Hong Kong's summer flu season typically falls between July and August, but Tsui said the city could see the peak in late June or July after a winter flu season failed to emerge earlier this year.
Tsui said the last flu season in Hong Kong ran from September to January, and that the absence of a winter season this year could help bring the summer wave forward. He also said Hong Kong's winter flu season usually comes in the first quarter of each year, which makes the current pattern unusual enough to keep health officials watching the numbers closely.
The concern is not only timing. Tsui said the lack of a winter flu season could also mean cases become more severe during the summer, which would make protection more important for people who have not yet been vaccinated. Authorities did not say how many residents remain unvaccinated, leaving the size of that group unclear even as the warning becomes more immediate.
That uncertainty leaves the clearest next step with residents themselves: those who have not had a flu jab still have a short window to reduce their risk before the season peaks. If activity continues to build from May's trend, Hong Kong may find itself facing a summer flu season that starts before most people are expecting it.
