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October 2, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Taipei Elderly Flock to Medical Centers for Free Flu Vaccinations" Taiwan News (10/02/02)

On Tuesday, more than 20,000 Taipei County and 17,000 Taipei City senior citizens had flocked to clinics, hospitals and local health agencies to get free flu shots as offered by the Department of Health.  Influenza is predicted to reach its peak for the year soon, as the weather is becoming cooler, putting elderly people at higher risk.  In the meantime, legislator Yang Fu-mei, of the People First Party, questioned Yen Jer-Jay, chief of the prevention and vaccination section of the DOH, as to whether the department intended to turn a profit from the distribution of the 1.45 doses of vaccine purchased for NT$125 per dose.  Yen responded by explaining that the vaccines were purchased for NT$127 a dose and the hospitals and clinics, in turn, paid less than NT$150 per dose through a joint arrangement with the doctors association, and the only fee to individuals was for registration or injection at those places.

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