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Source: http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_...&lang=eng_news
Hospitalized H1N1 patients rising as immunization rate slows
Central News Agency
2010-01-17 08:17 PM
Taipei, Jan. 17 (CNA) The number of patients hospitalized with influenza A(H1N1) infection has continued to rise in the past two weeks, while the immunization program for the new flu strain remains at a low ebb, a health official said Sunday.
"Although the reported number of people seeking outpatient or emergency medical treatment for flu-like symptoms has not surged sharply, the number of hospitalized H1N1 patients has continued to increase, " said Shih Wen-yi, deputy director-general of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) under the Department of Health.
A total of 878 H1N1 hospitalization cases have been documented in Taiwan since a worldwide outbreak last year, of whom 37 have died.
None of the fatalities had received the H1N1 vaccine, Shih said.
Noting that 5.6 million local people have been immunized against the disease, Shih said the vaccination program has greatly helped to reduce the number of school classes suspended because of students developing flu-like symptoms.
According to the CDC tallies, Shih went on, only 18 were children aged under 10 who had either not received a second shot of vaccine or who came down with the virus before developing antibodies.
"The other hospitalized patients had not been immunized for the disease, " Shih said, adding that all these figures point to the beneficial effect of the vaccine.
Because of some cases said to be attributed to side effects of the immunization, particularly the death of a boy, the number of people willing to receive immunization had declined in recent weeks.
At present, fewer than 20,000 people are coming forward to get H1N1 shots each day. "Given this trend, the target of getting 6 million people immunized by Jan. 23 will be hard to reach, " Shih said, adding that a new wave of H1N1 infections may appear around the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February.
Shih said the DOH will step up examinations of cases of side effects allegedly related to the H1N1 vaccine in order to determine the true causes and raise public confidence in the immunization program.
(By Chen Ching-fang and Sofia Wu)
Hospitalized H1N1 patients rising as immunization rate slows
Central News Agency
2010-01-17 08:17 PM
Taipei, Jan. 17 (CNA) The number of patients hospitalized with influenza A(H1N1) infection has continued to rise in the past two weeks, while the immunization program for the new flu strain remains at a low ebb, a health official said Sunday.
"Although the reported number of people seeking outpatient or emergency medical treatment for flu-like symptoms has not surged sharply, the number of hospitalized H1N1 patients has continued to increase, " said Shih Wen-yi, deputy director-general of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) under the Department of Health.
A total of 878 H1N1 hospitalization cases have been documented in Taiwan since a worldwide outbreak last year, of whom 37 have died.
None of the fatalities had received the H1N1 vaccine, Shih said.
Noting that 5.6 million local people have been immunized against the disease, Shih said the vaccination program has greatly helped to reduce the number of school classes suspended because of students developing flu-like symptoms.
According to the CDC tallies, Shih went on, only 18 were children aged under 10 who had either not received a second shot of vaccine or who came down with the virus before developing antibodies.
"The other hospitalized patients had not been immunized for the disease, " Shih said, adding that all these figures point to the beneficial effect of the vaccine.
Because of some cases said to be attributed to side effects of the immunization, particularly the death of a boy, the number of people willing to receive immunization had declined in recent weeks.
At present, fewer than 20,000 people are coming forward to get H1N1 shots each day. "Given this trend, the target of getting 6 million people immunized by Jan. 23 will be hard to reach, " Shih said, adding that a new wave of H1N1 infections may appear around the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February.
Shih said the DOH will step up examinations of cases of side effects allegedly related to the H1N1 vaccine in order to determine the true causes and raise public confidence in the immunization program.
(By Chen Ching-fang and Sofia Wu)