The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) launched this year’s government-funded seasonal influenza vaccination campaign on October 1. To ensure the health and wellbeing of the people in Taiwan, Taiwan CDC has expanded the target groups for this year’s vaccination campaign, increasing the vaccination coverage from 13% to 25% of the total population. To encourage influenza vaccination, the Health and Welfare Minister Lin Tzou-yien (林奏延), the Taiwan CDC Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), Lion Travel General Manager Chen Zheng-da (陳正達), China Airlines Deputy General Manager Chong Ming-zhi (鍾明志) attended the vaccination campaign press conference to highlight the importance and benefits of influenza vaccination and urge other corporations to get their employees vaccinated. During the press conference, Minister Lin and Director-General Chou received their seasonal influenza shot together with other eligible individuals who were also in attendance.

Minister Lin pointed out that during the last influenza season, many severe cases and even deaths were reported among the middle-aged group, severely affecting the overall socioeconomic security. Therefore, the Executive Yuan (the Cabinet) approved the tapping into the secondary reserve fund to purchase 6 million doses of influenza vaccine for this year’s influenza season that begins in October to cover 25% of the total population, which doubles the amount of the vaccine purchased in the past. Nonetheless, it takes more than governmental resources to effectively prevent influenza transmission. Private companies are encouraged to promote mass influenza vaccination among their employees. Both China Airlines and Lion Travel have voluntarily funded seasonal influenza vaccination for their employees this year and planned to continue supporting future influenza vaccination policies in the hope to encourage more private companies to provide mass influenza vaccination for their employees.

Taiwan CDC Director-General Chou also stressed that influenza vaccination is the most effective way to prevent influenza. Influenza vaccine offers healthy adults approximately 70-90% protection and elderly people 50-60% protection against clinical influenza and severe cases. In addition, seasonal influenza vaccination is 80% effective in preventing death among elderly people. The public is advised to get the seasonal influenza vaccine annually to ensure protection against influenza. The target groups for this year’s government-funded influenza vaccine include children aged 6 months to 18 years, pregnant women, women within 6 months of giving births, adults aged above 50, at-risk individuals with chronic medical conditions, individuals with rare diseases or major illness/injury, health care and public health personnel, poultry farmers and animal health inspectors, individuals with a BMI of 30 and above, and residents and personnel at nursing institutes.

As the vaccination campaign kicked off on October 1, 2016, all eligible individuals are advised to get vaccinated as soon as possible in order to ensure protection. To look up contracted hospitals and clinics that offer government-funded influenza vaccines and antivirals near you, please visit: https://antiflu.cdc.gov.tw/. With regard to vaccination fees, students receiving the vaccine on campus are not required to pay for any fees. Eligible individuals that visit the listed contracted hospitals and clinics for the influenza vaccination merely need to pay the registration fees according to the National Health Insurance fee schedule to receive the vaccine, while eligible individuals seeking outpatient services at the contracted hospitals and clinic can receive the influenza vaccine without being charged the registration fees for the vaccination. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).