Number of pulmonary chain cases and deaths hit record lows, CDC urges 6 adults to get vaccinated quickly

Lin Mingcheng, deputy director of the Department of Disease Control and Prevention, called on people who are eligible for the public-funded pneumococcal vaccine to get vaccinated.

[Reporter Lin Zhiyi/Taipei Report] Pneumonia is the third leading cause of death in the country, and Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the main causes of pneumonia. This year (2026), thanks to the Health Coin, the completion rate of pneumococcal vaccination for people over 65 years old in my country has increased from 32% to 40.9%. However, there are still about 2.9 million elderly people who have not been fully vaccinated, accounting for nearly 60%. The CDC calls on eligible people to actively go and get vaccinated.

The CDC pointed out that as of November 9 this year, there have been a total of 239 confirmed cases of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), with more than 50% of people over 65 years old accounting for about 50%. The number of cases has dropped by about 20% compared with the same period last year, a new low for the same period in three years. Among them, 30 deaths were also a new low for the same period in four years, showing the effectiveness of promoting pneumococcal vaccination.

The CDC explained that the adult vaccine switching policy will be implemented gradually from January 15th to August 10th this year. Elderly people aged 65 years and above (inclusive), indigenous people aged 55-64 years old, and subjects aged 19-64 years old who are at high risk of invasive pneumococcal infection (IPD) will receive one dose of 20-valent or 21-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccine (PCV20 and PCV21) at public expense.

From the policy change to November 9 this year, 294,000 doses of PCV20 and 98,000 doses of PCV21 have been administered to elderly people over 65 nationwide. The vaccination completion rate has increased from 32% to 40.9%, reaching this year's vaccination target of 40% ahead of schedule. The vaccine coverage rate will continue to be improved and the vaccination completion rate will reach 45% by the end of next year.

The CDC appeals that those who have "never received any pneumococcal vaccine" or "only received PCV13/15" or "only received 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23)" can still receive one dose of PCV20 or PCV21. As of now, there are still about 2.9 million people over the age of 65 who have not been fully vaccinated. In order to maintain complete personal immune protection, those who meet the public-funded qualifications can be vaccinated at contract hospitals or community vaccination stations set up by local government health bureaus.