Health | Free flu shot now available for Macau residents

Holders of a Macau resident ID can now receive their free influenza vaccination at participating healthcare facilities after prior online registration.

For residents planning to receive vaccinations at their respective health centers, online registration must be completed before visiting the facilities to receive the shots.

However, if residents plan to get the vaccinations at the vaccination points at S. Januário Hospital or Kiang Wu Hospital, the University Hospital at the Macau University of Science and Technology and the Workers’ Clinic, they may walk in directly, announced the Health Bureau.

Vaccines should be obtained as soon as possible because it normally takes two to three weeks for sufficient antibodies to develop in the human body. Administering the vaccination now leaves enough time to protect against the possible wave of flu infections in the peak winter months of January and February.

To cope with the expected wave of the flu, the Health Bureau has ordered 10% more vaccines than last year. The free injection scheme started in September for specific groups of people only. The bureau later expanded it to cover all Macau residents.

Although flu infection numbers in Macau are currently at normal levels, after referencing the available global data, the bureau predicts there may be a wave of flu infections between mid-January and March.

As Macau’s peak flu season also happens around that same period, the bureau encourages all Macau residents to get the injection.

High-risk groups, including children, seniors, pregnant women and the chronically ill, are strongly recommended to receive the shot, as they are more vulnerable to influenza and complications therefrom.

The Health Bureau has ordered quadrivalent vaccines, which can help protect against two types of Influenza A and two types of Influenza B. AL