Nearly 590,000 people were vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19 in Kaohsiung, reaching a new high

The 2015 publicly funded influenza and COVID-19 vaccines started on October 1. According to statistics from the Kaohsiung City Government Health Bureau, as of October 20, a total of approximately 442,000 influenza vaccines have been vaccinated in the city, an increase of 13.6% over the same period last year; nearly 146,000 COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered, an increase of 36.1% over the same period last year, and a total of nearly 590,000 dual vaccines have been administered.

The Health Bureau reminds that the second phase of publicly funded vaccination will be available from November 2. Adults over 50 years old without high-risk chronic diseases and those who qualify for public funding in the first phase can go to contract medical institutions or community vaccination stations for vaccination. However, the number of publicly funded vaccines is limited, and vaccinations will be available until the vaccines are used up. Eligible people are advised to complete the vaccination as soon as possible.

The Health Bureau pointed out that so far this year (115), there have been 138 severe cases of COVID-19 in Gao City, including 33 deaths. Among severe cases, 76.1% were elderly people over 65 years old, 89.1% were people with chronic medical history, and 73.9% had not received the current season's COVID-19 vaccine. This shows that the elderly and patients with chronic diseases are still high-risk groups for severe COVID-19. Elderly people and patients with chronic diseases are reminded to be more vigilant and get vaccinated as early as possible to reduce the risk of severe illness and death after infection.

The Health Bureau stated that this year’s COVID-19 vaccine has been fully upgraded to the new generation vaccine XFG, which contains one-fifth of the antigen dose of the previous generation vaccine. Empirical data also shows that the proportion of fever and any local adverse reactions after vaccination is approximately reduced by half; and clinical studies show that it can induce nearly 2 times the antibody response, providing better immune protection than the previous generation vaccine.

The Health Bureau reminds that it takes about 2 weeks after vaccination to establish relatively complete immune protection. Especially high-risk groups such as the elderly over 65 years old, young children and patients with chronic diseases should seize the opportunity to get vaccinated to establish protection as early as possible. In order to improve the convenience of vaccination, the city plans to open 37 community vaccination stations for influenza and COVID-19 vaccines from October 21 to 25 to provide people with nearby vaccination services and encourage those who qualify to take advantage of them.

The Health Bureau calls on the elderly, young children and other eligible people who have not yet been vaccinated against the new coronavirus to seize the opportunity to get vaccinated and complete the vaccination as soon as possible. Eligible persons can bring their health insurance cards and relevant identity documents to more than 400 vaccine contract medical institutions or community vaccination stations across the city for vaccination. For information on vaccination qualifications, vaccination stations and contract medical institutions, you can go to the influenza and new crown vaccine contract institution area to inquire.