TAIPEI: The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday urged the public to get vaccinated against the A(H1N1) influenza virus as a precaution against any new outbreaks during the Chinese New Year holiday in February, but noted that the second wave of the epidemic has tapered off.

Getting H1N1 flu shots is crucial to preventing the spread of the virus, DOH deputy chief Chang Shen-chwen said at a news conference.

He reported that no new hospitalized H1N1 cases have been recorded recently because of the island-wide H1N1 vaccination program that was launched late last year.

Asked whether the H1N1 vaccine, with an adjuvant added in it, is safe for pregnant women, Chang said it is, and that the Influenza Advisory Committee agreed at a meeting last week that pregnant women should get the vaccine.

The DOH will also make public information about the vaccine to allow citizens to choose between the imported Novartis and the Taiwan-made Adimmune vaccines, he said.

However, it is advisable that infants and children under 10, who require two H1N1 vaccine doses, should get the same brand both times to ensure safety and efficacy of the shots, Chang added.

As for the DOH's suggestion that only a single dose is required for elderly people rather than the two doses recommended on the Novartis vaccine leaflets, the DOH's Centers for Disease Control Director-General Kuo Hsu-sung said that information leaflets could be revised from time to time if necessary, but government policy does not have to follow suit.

Addressing the safety issue, Chang said that Novartis has not completed clinical trials in children, but they should be finished in March. However, the vaccine is considered safe because it is permitted in many countries.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 01/28/2010 page2)