Taipei: Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced plans to acquire an additional 150,000 influenza vaccine doses, anticipating that the current supply will be exhausted by late December. A record-breaking 6.125 million individuals have already received publicly funded flu vaccines in Taiwan this year, which represents 91.7 percent of the approximately 6.68 million doses initially purchased, as stated by CDC Director-General Lo Yi-chun during a routine news briefing in Taipei.

According to Focus Taiwan, the number of flu shots administered this year is 16 percent higher compared to the 5.26 million doses given during the same period last year. Lo attributed the increased demand to the earlier-than-usual onset of the flu season and heightened public awareness following the death of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu from influenza in Japan in February. Lo indicated that this would likely be the last batch of vaccines purchased for this flu season and urged those eligible or planning to pay for a shot to get vaccinated promptly.

With the additional 150,000 doses, the total number of flu vaccines bought this year will reach 6.829 million, marking the highest ever for Taiwan. CDC spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui noted that flu cases are expected to rise in mid-December, with the peak likely during the Lunar New Year period.

CDC data indicates that from November 16 to 22, there were 85,425 emergency department visits for flu-like illnesses, a 10.1 percent decrease from the previous week. During the past seven days, 25 new severe influenza cases and 12 deaths have been reported. Influenza A virus subtype H3N2 remains the dominant strain, followed by H1N1 and influenza B.

CDC statistics reveal that there have been 325 severe influenza cases and 45 deaths so far this flu season. Among the severe cases, 63 percent were individuals aged 65 and older, 83 percent had underlying health conditions, and 94 percent had not received a flu vaccine this season.