As government-funded seasonal influenza vaccinations began yesterday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said that the total number of vaccines is expected to cover more than 31 percent of the population.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who also heads the CECC, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) and CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) demonstrated getting vaccinated against the flu.
Fitness trainer Eddie Pan (潘若迪) was invited as a disease prevention ambassador to promote the government-funded flu vaccination program. He also received a flu vaccination, along with a pregnant woman and a pair of twin infants.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The symptoms of seasonal flu and COVID-19 are similar, so many people are worried that diagnosis and treatment of the two diseases might become more difficult, Chen said.
“If a person gets infected with the flu and COVID-19, of course the risk of developing severe complications is increased, but if the person gets a flu shot first, lowering the risk of getting the flu, the likelihood of getting a double infection would also be reduced, avoiding difficultly in diagnosis and treatment,” he said.
The nine groups of people eligible for the government-funded flu vaccines and the number of procured vaccines for this flu season are the same as last flu season, Chen said.
There are approximately 6 million doses of government-funded vaccines, which can cover about 25.5 percent of the population, he said, adding that the number of vaccines prepared for those who want to pay out-of-pocket is higher than last season, so the total coverage rate is expected to reach more than 31 percent of the population.
Pan, who is 58 years old, said that being healthy is very important, because only by being healthy can he take care of his students and the people around him, so he has never stopped exercising in the past 35 years, and he gets a flu vaccine every year.
Chuang said that people who are 65 or older have been eligible for government-funded flu vaccines since 1998, and the vaccination rate in this age group has reached about 51.3 percent.
However, people aged 50 to 64 were only included in 2016, so the vaccination rate of people in this age group is relatively low — about 18.7 percent, he said, adding that the CDC encourages people in this age group to get vaccinated.
The body develops immunity against the flu about two weeks after vaccination, and protection can last up to a year, the CDC said.
As flu viruses change frequently, the vaccine composition might differ each season to protect against different strains of flu viruses, so people are advised to get vaccinated every season, it said.
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