More people have been more willing to go to hospitals to receive free seasonal flu shots so far this year than last year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, four days after the vaccination program for this year began.
Of the 2.66 million free influenza shots available for high-risk groups, 220,000 were used between Saturday and Monday, CDC Deputy Director Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) said. This represents 60,000 more vaccinations than in the same period last year, Shih said.
If the vaccination rate remains high over the next couple of months, there would not be any free shots available for the general public after high-risk groups are vaccinated. Last year, free shots were given to the general public during the winter season because of a relatively low vaccination rate among those most at risk of catching the flu.
High-risk groups include people 65 years of age or older, nursing home residents, people with rare diseases or serious illnesses, children aged six months to 10 years, medical staff and people working in the livestock sector.
Those not on the priority list but who work among potentially high-transmission groups are urged to get vaccinated at their own expense, the deputy director said.
Kindergarten teachers, for example, can protect their students from contracting and spreading influenza by getting vaccinated themselves first. So far, pharmaceutical giant Novartis has allocated 300,000 shots for people in Taiwan who want to purchase vaccines, Shih said.
To encourage high-risk groups to get shots, CDC Director Chang Feng-yi (張烽益), whose position qualifies him for the free vaccination program, was vaccinated at a press conference.
Chang said that with temperatures beginning to drop and the flu season arriving soon, people should take extra precautions to prevent illnesses. He identified three strains of influenza that are expected to be present in the country this year — H1N1, H3N2 and influenza B — and said the risk of getting sick is greatly reduced if one is vaccinated against the viruses.
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