People will not be fully protected against swine flu during the Lunar New Year unless they receive the vaccine before Jan. 23, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) spokesman Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) said yesterday.
“It takes two to three weeks for the antibodies to build up inside the body, so [vaccination] before Jan. 23 is necessary to ensure a happy and healthy Lunar New Year holiday,” Shih told reporters.
Yesterday marked the first day the public was given the choice between receiving the Novartis or Adimmune version of the vaccine.
PHOTO: CNA
Shih said recent cold weather was a worrying development because it increased the likelihood of the virus spreading.
“The point is that taking the shot is the most important thing. It doesn’t matter whether you take the Novartis or Adimmune vaccine,” Shih said.
The CDC has purchased 5 million doses of Novartis vaccines and 10 million from local company Adimmune.
Shih said that about 500,000 doses of the Novartis and 5 million doses of the Adimmune vaccines had been used. The CDC has 1.69 million doses of Novartis vaccines and 1.89 million of the Adimmune version in stock.
Meanwhile, Shih said members of the CDC’s Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) would continue to investigate cases of bad reactions to the vaccine to ensure public support for the program.
The VICP also set compensation for individuals who die as a result of vaccination at NT$6 million (US$188.2 million) and NT$5 million for those who are left handicapped. The amounts would be disbursed to the victims of any vaccine, including swine flu vaccines.
VICP review group executive director Liu Ting-ping (劉定萍) said this new policy could be effective as soon as next month.
Liu said that pregnant women would also be compensated if they lost their babies as a result of vaccination. Mothers whose pregnancy is in the first 20 weeks would receive NT$50,000, while those who are more than 20 weeks pregnant would receive NT$100,000.
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