Wed, Mar 08, 2023 page1

• Mpox shots to be offered to about 3,000 people

  • By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
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  The first batch of mpox vaccination would be offered to about 3,000 people in targeted groups in the six special municipalities, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, as it reported Taipei’s first local case of the disease formerly known as monkey pox.

  CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said the new mpox case is a man in his 30s who did not travel abroad recently.

  He developed a fever late last month, as well as rashes and blisters on his limbs and torso.

  

  Centers for Disease Control Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei talks to reporters at a news conference at the center in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: CNA

  A doctor reported the case for mpox testing and the test result was positive on Friday, he said.

  The man has been hospitalized for treatment, while 18 close contacts have been identified and asked to monitor their health for 21 days, Guo added.

  CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said two of the close contacts live with the man, so they would be assessed for receiving a vaccine as post-exposure prophylaxis.

  The new case marks the third local mpox infection reported in a week.

  Lo said that as the three cases are not linked to each other, the risk of local infections has increased, so the center plans to offer vaccines to about 3,000 people in high-risk groups in the six special municipalities in the first phase of vaccination.

  There are about 1,100 doses of mpox vaccine available, with each dose enough to vaccinate about three or four people, he said.

  The center would ask the special municipalities’ local health departments to coordinate with hospitals to open special vaccination clinics, arrange vaccination training and begin administering the vaccines this month.

  Recipients would include laboratory staff working with mpox, people who have had any type of sexual contact with a confirmed case and did not receive post-exposure prophylaxis, and people who engaged in high-risk sexual behavior in the past six months, such as people with multiple partners, sex workers and their clients, and people who have sexually transmitted diseases.

  Lo said the center is procuring about 10,000 doses of mpox vaccines, which are expected to arrive before the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday on April 5 and would be ready to be administered next month.

  In related news, Guo said six new cases of severe influenza complications and two flu-related deaths were confirmed last week.

  Five of the severe cases had influenza A (H3N2) strain and one the influenza A (H1N1) strain.

  While five of them had underlying health conditions, none had been vaccinated this flu season, he said.

  The deceased had the influenza A (H3N2) strain, were not vaccinated and had underlying health conditions, he added.

  As of Monday, 59 cases of severe flu complications had been reported this flu season, which began on Oct. 1 last year.

  Of those, 39 percent were aged 65 or older, 92 percent had not been vaccinated this flu season and 78 percent have underlying health conditions, CDC data show.

  Separately, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 10,816 new local COVID-19 cases, 222 imported cases and 34 deaths.

  Lo, who is also CECC spokesman, said although the daily caseload is 9.2 percent higher than Tuesday last week, the caseload then was likely underreported, because it was the last day of the 228 Peace Memorial Day long weekend.

  Daily caseloads seem to be decreasing this week, he added.
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