More than 200,000 doses of flu vaccines were administered on the first day of government-funded vaccination on Monday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, urging eligible people get vaccinated as soon as possible.
About 6 million government-funded flu vaccines have been prepared for nine high-risk groups of people, and 209,240 shots were administered on the first day, about the same number given a year earlier, it said.
There were 50,267 cases of flu-like illnesses nationwide last week and 38 clustered flu cases were reported in the past four weeks, with 24 clusters (63.2 percent) found at schools, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Liu Ting-ping (劉定萍) said.
There have been 17 cases of serious complications caused by the flu this season, which started on Oct. 1, of whom 10, or 59 percent, were infected with the influenza A (H3N2) strain.
“The common circulating virus now is the influenza A virus, and flu activity has been relatively low at this point,” CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said.
However, flu activity often begins to increase in November, and it takes about two weeks for the body to develop antibodies after getting a flu vaccine, so the CDC advises people to get vaccinated earlier, he added.
In related news, clustered cases of chicken pox have been increasing in Taipei, the Taipei Department of Health said.
Twelve clusters have been reported since the new school semester began, for a total of 85 cases from last month to Thursday last week, the department said, adding that the number is 2.7 times higher from the same period last year.
Five clusters involving 55 cases were reported in elementary schools, three clusters involving 11 cases were found at junior-high schools and two clusters each were reported at senior-high schools (10 cases) and cram schools (nine cases), it said.
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 US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative.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
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
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition