Japan's flu epidemic heats up, Taiwan's publicly funded vaccination hits record high

2026/10/03 11:49

Publicly funded influenza vaccines began on October 1. According to statistics from the CDC, 601,000 people have been vaccinated on the 1st and 2nd. (File photo)

[Reporter Luo Bi/Reporting from Taipei] The influenza epidemic in Japan continues to heat up and has increased for nine consecutive weeks. The average number of reported cases in the latest week of influenza-like fixed-point surveillance was 10 times that of the same period last year. The number of cases increased in 44 of the 47 prefectures in the country. Lin Mingcheng, deputy director of the Department of Disease Control and Prevention, said that domestic publicly funded influenza and new crown vaccines were launched simultaneously on October 1. In the first two days, a total of 601,000 and 209,000 people were vaccinated respectively, both higher than the same period last year. Among them, 335,000 people were vaccinated with influenza vaccine yesterday (2nd), setting a new single-day record since the two-phase vaccination in 2021.

Lin Mingcheng pointed out that Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's surveillance data from September 14 to 20 in the 38th week showed that the average number of reported cases in influenza-like fixed-point surveillance was 8.48, an increase of 53.1% from 5.54 cases in the previous week, and about 10 times the 0.8 cases in the same period last year, indicating that the epidemic situation has significantly increased.

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Among the 47 prefectures in Japan, the number of cases increased in 44 from the previous week. The areas with the highest average number of reported cases at fixed points include Okinawa, Tokyo, Aichi, Kanagawa and Chiba. The age distribution is dominated by people over 70 years old, accounting for 47.5%; the virus strain is mainly H1N1, accounting for 98%.

Lin Mingcheng said that the epidemic in Japan began to rise in the 30th week, and has climbed for nine consecutive weeks by the 38th week. He speculated that the flow of people during the "Silver Week" holiday may be the main reason for the rapid rise in the epidemic. In addition to Japan, influenza epidemics are also on the rise in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore in Asia, and the United States is also showing an upward trend.

In terms of domestic vaccination, Lin Mingcheng pointed out that from October 1 to 2, a total of 601,000 people were vaccinated against influenza, an increase of 9% from 550,000 in the same period last year; a total of 209,000 people were vaccinated against the new crown vaccine, an increase of 19% from 176,000 in the same period last year.

Among them, 335,000 people received influenza vaccines in a single day yesterday (2nd), surpassing the 318,000 people on October 3, 2025, setting a record for the highest number of people vaccinated in a single day since the two-phase introduction of the 2021 influenza vaccine.

Lin Mingcheng reminded that many documents show that vaccination against influenza and COVID-19 can not only reduce pneumonia, but also help reduce the risk of heart disease. He called on people who are eligible for public-funded vaccination to complete the "Left and Right" as soon as possible to protect their lungs and heart.