The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) launched this year’s government-funded seasonal influenza vaccination campaign on October 1,, 2017. To ensure the health and wellbeing of the people in Taiwan, Taiwan CDC has purchased 6 million doses of influenza vaccine for this year’s vaccination campaign as an attempt to increase the vaccination coverage to 25% of the total population. Compared to last year, Taiwan CDC has expanded the target groups for this year’s vaccination campaign to include parents of infants less than 6 months of age, kindergarten caretakers and child-care professionals. To encourage influenza vaccination, the Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) rolled up his sleeves to receive an injection as a demonstration. Chen explained the importance and benefits of getting vaccinated and urged prompt flu shots. CDC Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) and celebrity Guo Tzu-chien (郭子乾) received the seasonal flu vaccine together with Tsai , an 8-month-old baby girl.

Minister Chen pointed out that getting influenza vaccination is the most cost-effective way to prevent influenza and the publicly funded seasonal influenza vaccination campaign is aligned with international practice. Chen urged the people who are qualified for the publicly funded influenza vaccination to get vaccinated as soon as possible at contracted hospitals and clinics in order to ensure protection. Celebrity Guo said that being a 53-year-old actor, he spent most of his time busy working in studios, an enclosed space in which flu virus can easily spread in the air. Even though he is quite healthy physically, as the breadwinner for his family, Guo has to protect himself against diseases. When he learned that people over 50 years old are eligible for the free shot, he decided to get vaccinated to ward off infection. Guo also encouraged people to get their flu shots to ensure their own health and the health of others.

Taiwan CDC said that influenza epidemic usually escalates around late November in Taiwan, reaches its peak by the end of the year and around the Chinese New Year, then declines in February and March. It takes some time to build immunity after vaccination. Hence, the best time to receive flu vaccines is from October onwards. Taiwan CDC recommends the public to visit the “Query System for Contracted Healthcare Facilities Offering Government-funded Influenza Vaccines” at https://antiflu.cdc.gov.tw/, and select the nearest healthcare provider for the purpose of convenience. Students can receive their government-funded influenza vaccine on campus. Eligible individuals for the government-funded influenza vaccine can visit any contracted hospitals and clinics and pay merely the registration fee to receive the vaccine.

This year’s government-funded seasonal influenza vaccination campaign was launched today. The information concerning influenza vaccines is available for the public under the “Flu Section” on the Taiwan CDC website. In addition, Taiwan CDC developed a chatbot named “ the Disease Control Butler” for its official Line account (＠taiwancdc) to answer the public any questions about flu vaccines. In addition, the public may also call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922), for more information. In October, Taiwan CDC will arrange a series of livestream events focused on the topic of seasonal flu vaccines on its official Facebook fan page, “1922 - Epidemic Prevention Experts” to provide relevant knowledge on epidemic prevention and information about influenza vaccines to the public. For further information, please visit:  https://www.facebook.com/TWCDC/.