A total of 370,000 doses of a vaccine against the A(H1N1) influenza virus, commonly known as swine flu, will arrive in the country tomorrow, Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) said yesterday.
The vaccines, manufactured by Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis, will be made available to the public for free starting on Nov. 1, the minister said.
“It will be the first batch of 5 million doses we purchased from Novartis,” Yaung said.
“About 4 million people are set to benefit from the vaccination drive once all 5 million doses of the Novartis vaccine have arrived,” he said.
The vaccine will be distributed according to a priority list the government has compiled.
The vaccinations will start with typhoon-affected populations, followed by medical personnel in charge of disease control and prevention, and pregnant women. Next on the list are pre-school children, seriously ill patients, elementary, junior and senior high school students, individuals in the 19-24 age bracket and those over 25 at high risk of cardiopulmonary disease, healthy people in the 25-49 age bracket and those between 50 and 64. People older than 64 round out the list.
The department has also purchased 10 million doses of an A(H1N1) vaccine manufactured by Adimmune Corp (國光生技). Delivery of these vaccines is expected to begin at the end of this month.
Results of human trials of the Adimmune vaccine, which began on Sept. 23, are expected to be known as early as today, DOH officials said.
“If the Adimmune vaccine proves to have the same effectiveness, the Adimmune products will also be distributed in the upcoming vaccination drive,” Yaung said.
However, Adimmune’s vaccines could not be used to protect babies younger than 12 months, Yaung said.
Children under the age of nine would receive a two-dose Novartis vaccine, while older people would receive a single dose, he added.
Figures released by the Central Epidemic Command Center show that the total number of patients suffering from the A(H1N1) virus who have been hospitalized in Taiwan since the outbreak began had reached 388 by Monday. Of the total, 24 have died, while 342 recovered and were discharged and 22 remained in hospital.
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