Eighteen walk-in vaccination sites are to be set up in Taipei starting on Thursday to offer free flu shots to the public, the city’s Department of Health said today.
Citizens are advised to receive the influenza vaccine and the latest JN.1 Covid-19 vaccine before they return to their hometown or travel abroad during the Lunar New Year holiday as Taiwan has entered the respiratory infections season, the Department of Health said in a press release.
Taipei City has recorded 41 cases of serious complications from influenza and six deaths between Oct. 1 last year and Jan. 12 this year, according to the statistics provided by the Department of Health.
Taipei Times file photo
About 92.7% of the patients were not vaccinated and 85.4% aged 50 years old and above, while most of them have chronic disease, the Department of Health said, urging the elderly, chronic disease patients, children and high-risk groups to get vaccinated as early as possible.
It takes two weeks for the vaccine to be effective, it said, adding that flu season usually peaks during the New Year and after the Lunar New Year.
About 40,000 doses of flu vaccines are still available in Taipei City for citizens aged six months old or above, the government said.
The service is available at 374 healthcare vendors in the city apart from the 18 newly added vaccination sites.
The vaccination sites will be located at several metro stations, including Shuanglian station, Longshan Temple station, Shipai station, Dongmen station, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall station, Jingmei station and Neihu station.
The vaccination sites are to be open until Jan. 23.
Citizens can check further details on the Department of Health’s website.
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