The Taiwan Association of Family Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday urged people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and influenza at the same time, saying that they are caused by different viruses and the two diseases are not only a “mild cold” for high-risk groups.
Government-funded COVID-19 and flu vaccinations began on Wednesday last week.
The association held a news conference in Taipei to raise public awareness and encourage eligible people to get vaccinated.
Photo: Lin Chih-yi, Taipei Times
TV hostess and actress Chen Mei-fen (陳美鳳) attended the event as an ambassador for the CDC’s “left COVID-19, right flu” policy, urging people to get a COVID-19 vaccine on their left arm and a flu vaccine on the right.
Chen said that every year she gets flu and COVID-19 shots, adding that it is a misconception that people who had contracted the diseases or previously been vaccinated are immune.
While the CDC had announced that the flu has entered its epidemic period last month, earlier than most years, CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said COVID-19 cases remain low in Taiwan, but are increasing in countries including Japan, South Korea and the US.
As of Tuesday, 1,273,028 doses of flu vaccines had been administered, about 1.7 times of the number in the same period last year, she said.
As for COVID-19 vaccines, 355,540 doses have been administered this year, about 1.9 times the number (189,670 doses) of the same period last year, she said.
The numbers show that this year there is a higher level of willingness than last year to get the flu vaccine, but the CDC still urges people with a higher risk of developing severe illness to get both vaccines for better protection, she said.
As there are several public holidays this month, more people are expected to be gathering or traveling, increasing infection risks, she added.
Association member Wu Chih-hsing (吳至行), a medical professor and physician, said the risk of developing acute and severe illness from COVID-19 infection is higher than from flu infection.
However, many people only get a flu vaccine shot, Wu said.
The two diseases are not caused by the same virus and are not only a “mild cold” for high-risk groups, he said.
Chen said her agent recently contracted the flu, followed by COVID-19, and they developed a high fever, intense muscle soreness and severe sore throat, and could only drink milk for a few days.
Even after the agent recovered and tested negative for COVID-19, coughing, chest tightness and loss of taste persisted for a few months, and they struggled to practice yoga and other exercises despite having practiced yoga for years, she said.
People should get vaccinated as soon as possible, she added.
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