TAIPEI: Free vaccinations against swine flu, officially known as influenza A(H1N1), will be kicked off on November 1 and completed before the 2010 Chinese New Year's Day, which falls on February 14, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced Tuesday.

A total of 12 million vials of the vaccine will be used up by that time, with children under the age of 9 receiving a two-dose vaccine to be sourced from the Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis and people aged above 9 receiving one dose, the CECC said.

The Novartis vaccine has been proven to be effective for the young and the old in Taiwan as over 70 percent of those tested produced antibodies against the A(H1N1) virus.

"If the vaccine developed by Adimmune Corp, Taiwan's sole human vaccine manufacturer, proves to have the same effectiveness, the Adimmune products will also be distributed in the upcoming vaccination drive," said Department of Health (DOH) chief Yaung Chih-liang.

Taiwan has placed orders with Novartis for a total of 5 million doses. The first batch of 370,000 vials is scheduled to arrive tomorrow (October 22).

"Some 4 million people are set to benefit from the vaccination drive when all the 5 million Novartis vaccine doses arrive," Yaung said.

Meanwhile, according to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Steve Kuo, the DOH has purchased a total of 10 million doses of vaccine against the A(H1N1) virus from Adimmune Corp and delivery is expected to begin at the end of October.

Results of human trials of the Adimmune vaccine, which began on September 23, are expected to be known as early as this week, he added.

Statistics released by the CECC show that the total number of A(H1N1) hospitalized patients in Taiwan since the outbreak began had reached 388 as of late Monday. Of the total, 22 remain in the hospital, 342 have recovered and been discharged, and 24 others have died.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 10/21/2009 page2)