The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said the second phase of government-funded flu vaccinations is to begin today for people 65 years or older and preschool children.
However, only 1,305 local public health centers and medical facilities, excluding Matsu, would provide the service today, as this phase of the program begins when many healthcare facilities are closed, the CDC said.
During the week, eligible vaccine recipients could still be vaccinated at the 4,090 healthcare facilities and public health centers across the nation, the agency added.
The government-funded vaccine this year, which would be provided in three phases to people in higher-risk categories, is a quadrivalent vaccine that protects against two strains of influenza A and two strain of influenza B, it said.
People aged 65 years or older and preschool children are at high risk of developing serious complications from seasonal flu, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said.
“Elderly vaccine recipients should bring their National Health Insurance card and national identification card, while parents of young children should bring their Children’s Health Booklet,” he said.
Children under nine years old who are vaccinated against the flu for the first time should get a second dose of the vaccine at least four weeks after the first to ensure better protection, he added.
The CDC has established a specialized flu prevention Web site (https://antiflu.cdc.gov.tw) that provides contact information, addresses and maps, as well as opening hours of healthcare facilities where eligible vaccine receivers can get vaccinated near their homes, Chuang said.
According to CDC disease monitoring statistics, there were 74,157 hospital visits for flu-like symptoms from Nov. 24 to Saturday last week, which was 2.6 percent higher than the week before, and has not reached the epidemic threshold.
Although the weekly number of flu cases is still relatively low, those eligible to receive a vaccine should do so as soon as possible to have better protection before the peak period arrives, the CDC said.
People should also exercise good hand hygiene and cough etiquette, as well as wear a surgical mask and seek medical attention if flu-like symptoms occur, it added.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
RSS