A six-month-old boy yesterday became the nation’s youngest patient to be hospitalized with influenza A(H1N1) after testing positive for the flu virus.
The infant was the third person under one year of age to be hospitalized with the A(H1N1) virus since the outbreak began earlier this year, and the youngest of the three, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said.
Epidemic prevention authorities reported yesterday that five more patients had been hospitalized with the A(H1N1) virus as the new flu strain continued to spread throughout the country.
The newly hospitalized patients included four males and one female, aged six months to 49, said the CECC, adding that these cases brought the total number of A(H1N1) hospitalized patients to 292 since the outbreak began.
Seventeen of these patients have died, while 239 have recovered and 36 remain in the hospital, the CECC said.
As of yesterday, 330 classes in 209 schools around the country were still suspended because of A(H1N1) infections among students. The number of affected classes accounts for 0.22 percent of the total, the CECC said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) announced yesterday that a total of 2.99 million flu vaccine doses would be available starting on Oct. 1 and another 15 million A(H1N1) influenza vaccine doses would come onto the market sometime in November.
Immunization against the new flu strain is expected to begin late next month, with healthcare workers, pregnant women and children between six months and six years of age chosen as priority recipients.
Centers for Disease Control Director-General Steve Kuo (郭旭崧) yesterday said that National Taiwan University Hospital, Tri-service General Hospital and Taipei Medical University-Wan Fang Hospital have completed the first round of human clinical trials on 300 adults for locally produced swine flu vaccine by Adimmune Corp (國光生技).
The result of the trails will be available in approximately three weeks.
In addition to 10 million doses of vaccine to be supplied by Adimmune, the DOH has purchased another 5 million doses from the Swiss-based pharmaceutical firm Novartis.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner