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.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
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