An additional 105,000 publicly funded flu vaccine doses would be available to eligible people from Thursday next week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
TTY Biopharm Co had won the NT$12.71 million (US$386,781) contract to supply the cell culture flu vaccines, which are suitable for children older than six months, adolescents and adults, the CDC said in a statement.
The CDC had been asked to procure the additional doses by the Executive Yuan in response to soaring demand for flu vaccines.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
Administration of the additional doses is expected to start on Thursday next week as planned for people aged 65 or older, infants older than six months old, preschool children and those at higher risk of contracting the flu, the agency said.
The government-funded vaccines are to be distributed to local health bureaus on Monday, which would then send them to their planned vaccination sites, the CDC said.
At a news conference yesterday, CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) advised at-risk people to get their dose once the vaccine becomes available to prevent serious illness and death.
Tseng said that if the flu vaccination rate for at-risk groups is not as high as expected, the CDC might launch a second round of free flu vaccination campaigns.
The nation has seen a surge in vaccination demand driven by the death of actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) at the age of 48 from flu-related complications on Feb. 2.
A daily high of 73,000 government-funded influenza vaccinations were given last week, with the vaccine stockpile to run out soon, CDC data showed.
As such, the government decided to purchase an additional 100,000 doses of the influenza vaccine for at-risk groups, the CDC said.
Since Jan. 1, the government has been offering free flu shots to all unvaccinated residents aged six months or older until supplies run out.
As of Monday, 6.573 million publicly funded flu vaccines had been administered, with 13,000 doses left, CDC data showed.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS