Government-provided flu shots might run out within two weeks, after about 16,000 were administered in the first three days, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
Taiwan to date has distributed 6,531,000 publicly subsidized flu shots, representing a 99.2 percent utilization rate for the nation’s allotment of vaccines, the CDC said in a news release.
Health officials on Wednesday launched a drive for the elderly to get vaccinated against the flu without charge amid dipping inoculation rates, it said.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Department of Health
The measure resulted in an average of 5,465 people per day being vaccinated, with people who were added to the list of eligible vaccine recipients accounting for 70 percent of the newly immunized, the CDC said.
Influenza activity is at a peak in Taiwan and no improvement is expected this month due to fluctuating temperatures, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said.
People who have not yet been inoculated are urged to get vaccinated, as the remaining stockpile of about 40,000 vaccines would soon be depleted, he added.
Meanwhile, Taiwan reported 523 new cases of COVID-19 and 70 related deaths in the past week, slightly down from 648 cases and 78 deaths from the week before, Lo said, adding that two of the latest fatalities were children.
Adults, adolescents and children over six months should get inoculated with vaccines for the Omicron XBB variants of SARS-CoV-2, as older vaccines and previous infections no longer confer immunity, he said.
A total of 1,979,000 people in Taiwan have been immunized against the XBB variant, including 1,734,000 Moderna and 245,000 Novavax doses, Lo said, adding that there are still 4,161,000 and 168,000 doses of the two vaccines available respectively.
Separately, the New Taipei City Department of Health yesterday said that it has opened 22 new community vaccination venues this month and that a list of their locations can be found on its Web site at www.health.ntpc.gov.tw/basic/?mode=detail&node=8342.
Free jabs are additionally administered at the department’s 29 district offices, and 63 hospitals and clinics; and in-home vaccination appointments may be made via telephone, it said.
The city government urges residents to get vaccinated, use masks and not go to class or work if they become sick to prevent spreading the virus, it said.
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