On September 28, 2010, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) announced it will launch its annual free seasonal influenza vaccination campaign on October 1, 2010.The target groups to receive the government-funded vaccine include elderly people aged 65 and older, people with major illness/injury, people with rare disease, residents and personnel at nursing institutes, children aged 6 moths through 6 years, elementary school students from grade 1 through 4, health care and public health personnel, poultry farmers and animal health inspectors.

To encourage the public to get vaccinated against seasonal influenza, Taiwan CDC has invited Taiwanese tennis star Yen-Hsun Lu to act as the spokesperson for infectious disease awareness this year and participate in its seasonal influenza vaccination campaign.As Lu frequently travels around the world to participate in tennis competitions, he remains vigilant against infectious diseases.Lu said he had seen other tennis players who missed important competitions due to influenza virus infection.Therefore, for Lu, getting preventive vaccines has become one of the things to do every year.Lu does not only receive seasonal influenza vaccine every year, but also regularly reminds his family to take a proactive approach in warding off influenza by getting vaccinated.

As this year’s spokesperson for infectious disease awareness, Lu has taken time to participate in the shooting of a series of promotional materials, including commercials, during his short-term stay in Taiwan.In the commercial, Lu demonstrated different tennis strokes that can be used to beat a tennis opponent in a tennis game, which is similar in nature to how different ways must be used to ward off influenza. One must receive seasonal influenza vaccine every year to protect himself/herself from the threat of the influenza virus.Behind-the-scene footage of the commercial is available for viewing on the Taiwan CDC’s website: https://www.cdc.gov.tw.

This year, Taiwan CDC has purchased a total of 2.979 million doses of the seasonal influenza vaccine. The vaccine contains the following three vaccine viruses: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)–like virus, an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)–like virus, and a B/Brisbane/60/2008–like virus. In Taiwan, the influenza season usually starts in mid-December and reaches its peak until around the Chinese New Year, which usually falls in either January or February.It takes approximately two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against influenza virus infection.Besides elementary students, people in other target groups are urged to get the vaccine as soon as possible at local health centers or contracted hospitals beginning October 1, 2010.On-campus seasonal influenza vaccination organized by the health authority and schools will be held at elementary schools to facilitate elementary students in getting the vaccine.In addition, this year, to enhance access to the seasonal influenza vaccine, home visits and community influenza vaccination clinics are being offered. For any questions or further information on influenza vaccination, please call the toll-free Communicable Disease Case Reporting and Consultation Hotline 1922, or visit the website: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/english/submenu.aspx?treeid=e79c7a9e1e9b1cdf&nowtreeid=e7c06af4f99e6f3a