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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》COVID jab ready for all next week
Guo Hung-wei, director of the Centers for Disease Control’s Epidemic Intelligence Center, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA
BE ALERT: There were 111,536 hospital visits for flu-like illnesses last week, while the majority of the 2,542 new dengue fever cases were from Tainan, the CDC said
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
Eligibility for an updated COVID-19 vaccine targeting Omicron XBB.1.5 would on Wednesday next week be expanded to all people aged six months or older, the Centers for Disease Control （CDC） said yesterday.
An average of 35 people per day were hospitalized with COVID-19 last week, slightly more than the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei （郭宏偉） said, adding that 78 percent of those hospitalized were people aged 65 or older.
Of the 95 cases who were genome sequenced, all 72 local and 23 imported cases involved Omicron XBB subvariants, including 32 local cases with the EG.5 strain and 14 imported cases with the EG.5 strain, he said.
While the local COVID-19 outbreak is still at a low point, the number of new reported cases is increasing slightly, and is expected to gradually increase in the second half of this month, CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui （曾淑慧） said.
As the updated COVID-19 vaccine for Omicron XBB.1.5 was offered to people aged 65 or older from Tuesday last week and to healthcare workers from Monday, the CDC had previously said that eligibility might be expanded to people aged six months or older on Monday next week.
However, Tseng yesterday said that Wednesday next week was the finalized date.
The CDC expects the local outbreak to peak at about the end of December, with more than 20,000 new cases per day — about 80 percent of the number recorded during the previous wave’s peak — so eligible recipients are encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as possible, she said.
Meanwhile, 111,536 hospital visits for flu-like illnesses were reported last week, Guo said, adding that the weekly figure has increased for six consecutive weeks.
The flu virus was the most common diagnosis over the past four weeks, and the influenza A （H3N2） and （H1N1） strains are circulating, Guo said.
Forty-one serious flu complications and seven flu-related deaths were confirmed last week, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching （林詠青） said, adding that all of those who died were aged 60 or older, had underlying health conditions and passed away about a week after the onset of symptoms.
Of the 41 serious cases, the youngest is a six-year-old girl, who did not have a chronic health condition, Lin said.
She had a fever and runny nose late last month and was rushed to a hospital after she was found in an altered state of consciousness, he said.
The girl was admitted to intensive care with pneumonia and acute encephalopathy, but has been moved to a general ward, Lin said.
If children experience changes in consciousness, convulsions, spasms or other signs of serious complications after getting the flu, they should be taken to a doctor immediately, he said.
Tseng said that the number of flu cases is expected to increase more rapidly from early next month until they peak late in January next year.
About 229,000 people received a flu shot when the first phase of the government-funded influenza vaccinations for people aged 65 or older and high-risk groups began on Monday, Tseng said.
The second phase for people aged 50 to 64 would begin on Nov. 1, she said.
Gou said that 2,542 new local dengue fever cases were reported last week, with 2,309 reported in Tainan.
Twelve serious dengue cases and five deaths were also confirmed, Gou added.
Of the five people who died, the youngest was a woman in her 20s who had diabetes and arrhythmia, Lin said, adding that she had a headache in the middle of last month, and developed muscle pain and drowsiness the next day.
She had symptoms of shock when taken to a hospital and died of multiple organ failure 10 days after the onset of symptoms, he said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
