Flu statistic dwarfed by bureau estimate

The local health bureau said yesterday that 9,007 Beijingers have been officially identified as suffering from A/H1N1 flu, adding that more than 50 percent were students.

But the official statistic follows a much larger estimate on Monday from Fang Laiying, head of the Beijing municipal health bureau, that as many as 400,000 might have had the A/H1N1 flu virus by Monday.

Fang said 1.7 million people in the city have been vaccinated but 90 percent of city residents who haven't been vaccinated or hadn't recovered already are still at risk.