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Nearly 2 million doses of flu vaccine used so far in 6 days: CDC

ROC Central News Agency

10/11/2020 07:56 PM

Taipei, Oct. 11 (CNA) Nearly 2 million doses of influenza vaccine purchased by the government to provide free shots to vulnerable people have been administered so far, six days after the annual vaccination program was launched Monday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Sunday.

According to CDC numbers, between Monday and Saturday, 1.92 million doses of flu vaccine have been used, a significant increase from the 1.52 million doses used during the same period of last year.

The CDC numbers show that the age bracket in which people have taken the greatest advantage of the flu shots so far are those aged over 65, where 870,000 doses were used during the six-day period.

People in the 50-64 age bracket, meanwhile, have taken 505,000 doses, a hike compared with the 320,000 doses used during the same period of 2019, according to the CDC.

However, the CDC figures show that people under the age of 6 have only been given 154,000 doses of the vaccine so far, a drop of nearly 50,000 doses compared with the 203,000 doses used during the same period of last year.

CDC deputy head Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) called on parents to get their young children vaccinated.

Under the 2020 government-funded program, six million free vaccines are available for citizens and legal residents of Taiwan, in groups considered to be high-risk.

These categories include minors ranging in age from 6 months to senior high school level, people over the age of 50, those with high-risk chronic, rare and serious diseases or severe injuries, expectant mothers, parents of babies under 6 months and employees at childcare centers, the CDC said.

Nursing home residents and workers, medical and quarantine personnel, people working in the poultry and livestock farming sector, zoo keepers, and animal quarantine personnel are also eligible to receive the free vaccine, the CDC added.

(By Chen Wei-ting and Joseph Yeh)

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