As Taiwan is soon to become a super-aged society, health experts yesterday encourage adults, especially people aged 65 or older, to ensure they are up to date regarding recommended vaccines.
Health experts were invited to speak at the Adult Immunization and Healthy Aging session of the Taiwan-UK Innovation for Longevity and Future Health Forum held by the British Chamber of Commerce in Taipei yesterday.
Lee Ping-ing (李秉穎), chair of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, said that while vaccination is important throughout a person’s life, many people have a misconception that only children need to get vaccinated.
Photo: Lee I-chia, Taipei Times.
Showing data from last year, he said that while all APEC economies recommend immunization schedules for children, only 67 percent of them have recommendations for all age groups, and although often neglected, adults also need to be vaccinated against preventable diseases.
In addition to recommended immunization schedules for children and adolescents, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has a list of recommended vaccines for adults, categorized into four age groups: 19 to 26, 27 to 49, 50 to 64 and 65 or older.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common infection among young children and older adults, but the fatality rate among people over the age of 65 is much higher, as many of them have comorbidities, so the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for all adults aged 65 or older, Lee said, adding that Taiwan began recommending and funding the vaccine this year.
The incidence rate of herpes zoster, or shingles, increases with age, and about one in three people get it during their lifetime, he said.
As an effective inactivated recombinant vaccine has been developed for shingles, the US recommends that people aged 50 or older and people who are 18 or older with certain risk factors get the vaccine, he said.
Showing CDC data, Lee said that the risk of severe influenza complications increases with age, with people over the age of 65, especially those with comorbidities, having the highest risk.
However, of those eligible for government-funded flu vaccines, people in that age group have one of the lowest vaccine coverage rates, he said.
A survey found that the main reason people hesitate to get vaccinated is because they are worried about its safety, Lee said, adding that many of their concerns are a result of exaggerated claims and misinformation, so effective communication strategies are important to raise awareness about adult vaccination.
Moreover, policymakers and the private sector must learn the importance of vaccination to secure sufficient vaccination policy funding, as it is now largely dependent on tobacco tax and a very small proportion of the government’s healthcare budget, Lee said.
Many individuals and entrepreneurs tend to donate to religious entities, charities, cancer research or other causes, but seldom to vaccination programs, he added.
National Center for Geriatrics and Welfare Research CEO Hsu Chih-cheng (許志成) said repeated communication is crucial to increase peoples’ health literacy and help them develop healthy habits.
Providing easy access can also increase the willingness of elderly people to get vaccinated, he said, citing the example of local health department’s using mobile vaccination units to set up pop-up clinics at temples to help elderly people who live in rural areas and usually need others to drive them to hospitals to get vaccinated.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS