Luo Yijun, director of the Department of Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, attended the 16th International Medical Symposium held by Yang-Ming Chiao Tung University Hospital today to share Taiwan's 40 years of valuable experience in epidemic prevention and control from passive response to proactive prevention. (Photo by reporter Wang Junqi)
[Reporter Wang Junqi/Reported by Yilan] Luo Yijun, Director of the Department of Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, attended the 16th International Medical Symposium held by Yangming Jiaotong University Hospital today (7th) to share Taiwan’s 40 years of valuable experience in epidemic prevention and control from passive response to active prevention. In an interview after the meeting, Luo Yijun said that the skin snake vaccine, which is of concern to all walks of life, is publicly funded and is undergoing a rigorous cost-benefit assessment. In addition, the "Left and Right New" campaign in autumn and winter has been enthusiastic, calling on the public to take the vaccine as soon as possible to prevent it from running out by the end of the year.
Luo Yijun recalled that in 1982, Taiwan was hit by a polio pandemic, and more than a thousand children were diagnosed, causing panic. The United States subsequently assisted in the establishment of epidemiological investigation training courses and cultivated a professional epidemic prevention talent pool; in 1998, the enterovirus pandemic highlighted the shortcomings of the multi-pronged carriage, prompting the integration of inspection, quarantine and other departments to establish the Bureau of Disease Control, which laid the foundation for Taiwan's future epidemic prevention system to have a single whip and efficient coordination capabilities.
Talking about the layout of the post-epidemic era, Luo Yijun explained that the CDC is expanding the epidemic prevention line, including the agricultural and environmental departments for early detection and prevention of emerging diseases, and implementing cross-regional joint prevention; at the same time, it is focusing on strengthening the capacity of the domestic vaccine industry, promoting domestic vaccine factories to deepen international cooperation, preparing homemade vaccines in advance for possible re-emergence of global pandemic diseases in the future, and building independent public health resilience.
In terms of vaccination in autumn and winter, Luo Yijun pointed out that in order to enhance the public's confidence and convenience in vaccination, the CDC actively promotes "Left and Right New". In addition to cooperating with mass sales outlets such as Quanlian and Carrefour to set up stations, it also invited artist Chen Meifeng to make videos to strengthen publicity. At present, the overall dose is quite good and the drug is removed quickly. Elderly people and high-risk groups who are eligible for public funding are reminded to seize the opportunity to avoid shortage of doses in winter or the end of the year.
In response to the local election political opinions that have raised the issue of public subsidies for the skin snake (herpes zoster) vaccine, Luo Yijun said that vaccine policies must be objectively evaluated in accordance with the law. Since last year, the CDC has commissioned professional academic institutions to conduct a cost-benefit analysis to understand the actual burden that huge investments can save on health insurance and society. After the evaluation report is released, it will be sent to the ACIP expert meeting for discussion to confirm whether it should be included in the public-funded normal project.
Luo Yijun said frankly that the price of the skin snake vaccine is high. It costs about 15,000 yuan to administer two doses at one's own expense. Compared with the publicly funded influenza vaccine, which costs about more than 200 yuan per dose, the price difference is huge. Even if the state centralizes large-scale procurement, a single dose may still cost several thousand yuan. The total procurement budget is extremely large and it is difficult to reduce it to a scale of several hundred yuan. Therefore, before public funds are injected, the financial burden and benefit assessment must be carefully considered actuarially.
