A 31-month-old boy who has not been vaccinated against the new crown virus was diagnosed with the new crown virus last Monday, causing acute necrotizing encephalitis. The boy’s condition deteriorated afterwards. The hospital performed emergency brain surgery on the boy yesterday. He is still in critical condition at the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit of Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The HA said medical staff are doing their best to provide the boy with appropriate treatment.
Su Jinghuan, co-chairman of the Paediatric Coordinating Committee of the Hospital Authority, said that children who have not completed the vaccination have a higher risk of infection. In case of infection, the situation can be very serious, there is a chance of serious symptoms such as encephalitis or hoarseness, requiring intensive treatment, and even death in severe cases. Even after the patient recovers, there may be a risk of medium and long-term sequelae. At present, only about 10% of children under the age of 3 have completed two doses of the new crown vaccine, and the situation is not ideal.
He also said that studies have shown that if you are infected with the new coronavirus and influenza virus at the same time, the risk of death will increase significantly. Hong Kong is about to enter the winter flu season. Parents should arrange for their children to receive the new crown vaccine and influenza vaccine as soon as possible to strengthen the protection of children.
The bureau said that since the fifth wave of the epidemic, 9 children under the age of 11 who were diagnosed with the disease have passed away. In the past two months, a total of 11 critical cases of children have been hospitalized in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of public hospitals.