The government-funded flu vaccination program would begin on Nov. 15, instead of Oct. 1, and would be carried out in phases using quadrivalent vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
The WHO normally announces the recommended composition of flu vaccines for the northern hemisphere influenza season in February, but this year, it announced the recommended A(H3N2) component in late March, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said.
Although the CDC ordered 6 million doses of quadrivalent vaccines in May, the vaccine manufacturer said the vaccines would be produced and shipped later than previous years due to the WHO’s delayed announcement, he said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
As the vaccines would arrive in batches, CDC specialists in a meeting in June decided that people at greater risk of infection would get vaccinated first, Chuang said.
Elementary and high-school students, as well as medical practitioners can get vaccinated starting on Nov. 15, followed by people aged 65 years or older and pre-school-age children starting on Dec. 8, and all other eligible groups for government-funded vaccination can get vaccinated from Jan. 1 next year, he said.
Elderly people, infants and young children are at greater risk of developing serious complications from flu infection, said Lee Ping-ying (李秉穎), a pediatrician at National Taiwan University Hospital and convener of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
However, it is more important to first vaccinate people who are at greater risk of transmitting the disease to prevent the virus spreading, Lee said.
Students can easily transmit the virus to their classmates and family members, spreading the disease in their communities, Lee said, adding that if medical practitioners are infected, it would cause a lack of personnel at hospitals and they could transmit the virus to patients or their families, so they should have priority when receiving flu vaccines.
In addition to getting vaccinated, people should maintain good personal hygiene, especially washing their hands, and observe proper cough etiquette to reduce the risk of infection, Lee said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it