Because of a global shortage of the vaccine against seasonal flu, the Department of Health (DOH) has only been able to secure 2.99 million doses, far lower than its target of 5 million, DOH Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) said yesterday.
“As the amount is hardly enough to inoculate individuals in high-risk groups, the average citizen may not have access to a vaccine shot,” Yaung said.
Today marks the beginning of the annual seasonal flu vaccination program. However, Yaung said that no publicly funded doses would be provided to individuals who do not belong to high-risk groups, even if they are willing to pay.
PHOTO: HUNG HSIU-MEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Based on the DOH's priority list, the seasonal flu vaccines will be given to the following groups of people in descending order — the elderly, medical personnel in charge of disease control and prevention, poultry breeders and patients with rare or serious diseases.
Next in the high-priority group are children from six months of age to those in fourth grade, and people living in prefabricated houses or shelters in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot.
Meanwhile, Yaung said the DOH would respect President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) wish to receive a locally produced A(H1N1) influenza vaccine.
“Whether and when President Ma should get vaccinated with a locally produced A(H1N1) vaccine is a political issue and the DOH's stance on the issue is to respect the president's choice,” Yaung said at a legislative session.
Lawmakers expressed concern over whether Ma is on the priority list to receive shots of locally produced A(H1N1) vaccine.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers asked why Ma was placed in the lowest priority group, far below education and communications ministers who are included in the broadly defined category of personnel in charge of disease control and prevention.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) questioned the wisdom of Ma receiving a shot of locally produced A(H1N1) vaccine because the safety of the Adimmune vaccine had not been verified.
Yaung said he would not oppose putting Ma in the broadly defined disease control personnel category because the president is often on community outreach tours.
“But the social mood is quite strange ... If Ma is placed high on the priority list, it could draw criticism that he is dominating national resources,” Yaung said. “But if he does not get a vaccine shot, some people might accuse him of lacking confidence in locally produced vaccine.”
Ma last week said he would volunteer to be among the first recipients of the locally produced A(H1N1) vaccine to increase public confidence in the product, even though he is not on a list of priority recipients.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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