Starting on Dec. 1, people aged between 50 and 64 without underlying conditions can get a government-funded influenza vaccination, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the decision was made to make more free shots available because the coverage rates for people 65 years or above and pre-elementary-school children — those older than six months — have almost reached their targets.
Due to the rush to get the free shots when the program was launched on Oct. 5, the Centers for Disease Control on Oct. 16 announced to temporary halt to the eligibility of people aged between 50 and 64 who have no chronic diseases for the vaccinations.
Suspending the eligibility of this age group was aimed at giving priority to the groups with a higher infection risk — the elderly and pre-elementary school children — and to achieve a more effective herd immunity, Chen said on Oct. 16.
As of Tuesday, about 5.45 million doses had been given, and the vaccination coverage rates of the elderly and pre-elementary school children had reached 49.3 percent and 44.6 percent respectively, he said yesterday.
The coverage rates for those two groups were expected to reach 51 percent and 48 percent respectively, by the end of the month, close to the target coverage rates of 52.5 percent and 55.5 percent, he said.
Moreover, the vaccination coverage rate for healthcare professionals has reached 72.1 percent, close to the target of 75 percent, he said.
Excluding the doses reserved for students being vaccinated on their campuses, there would be about 200,000 doses remaining by the end of the month, and an additional 60,000 doses have been procured and are expected to be available by the middle of next month, he said.
“We hope to reach an overall vaccination coverage rate of about 32 percent, including government-funded and pay-out-of-pocket vaccinations, by the end of the year,” he said.
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