Taiwan sees highest weekly hospital visits in 10 flu seasons: CDC

Taipei, Feb. 4 (CNA) The number of people seeking medical treatment for influenza-like symptoms hit a 10-season weekly high from Jan. 19-25, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday.

There were a total of over 162,000 such cases during the week, and another 91,000 cases in the following week, the Lunar New Year holiday, according to a CDC news release.

During Jan. 21-Feb. 3, there have been 142 severe cases and 25 deaths from influenza, the CDC said, explaining that the disease has reached an epidemic period in Taiwan.

The CDC said it expects cases to rise for one to two more weeks before gradually declining.

As of Feb. 3, a total of 667 severe influenza cases have been reported since Oct. 1, 2024, with 57 percent being seniors over age 65. Deaths have accumulated to 132 cases in the same period.

The majority of the cases tested positive for the H1N1 variant of the flu, which is the same variant as the government-funded influenza vaccines, the CDC said.

Worldwide, influenza is at an epidemic stage across the northern hemisphere, the CDC added, saying that cases are on the rise in Hong Kong, Europe and North America.

In Singapore, China and Japan, cases are plateauing or declining. While cases are declining in South Korea, the numbers are still over the epidemic threshold, the CDC said.

In Taiwan, over 90 percent of positive or death cases have not taken a flu jab, the CDC said.

In this flu season, a total of 6.425 million shots have been administered, marking a utilization rate of 97.5 percent, with 162,000 jabs remaining.

Health Minister Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said at a Tuesday news conference that high-risk groups such as the elderly and people with chronic illnesses should take vaccine shots.

Chiu also said that the ministry has enough anti-influenza medication in stock for more than 2 million people.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) also called on members of the public to receive vaccine jabs on a Facebook post.

According to her post, the vaccination rate of people aged over 65 hovered at around 53 percent in 2022 and 2023, while that of people aged 50-64 was only about 18 percent.

She called on people to receive vaccination in advance, rather than rush to receive shots for their peace of mind upon realizing the severity of the situation.

Lin was referring to the death of Taiwanese celebrity Barbie Hsu from influenza complications at the age of 48.