On November 3, 2017, the Taiwan Centers for Diseases Control (Taiwan CDC) and PX Mart Co. Ltd. announced their partnership to provide the public with convenient accesses to the government-funded flu vaccine. From November 4 to 5, with the help of the local health bureaus in 8 cities and counties, free seasonal flu vaccines will be available at 27 branches owned by PX Mart. Taiwan CDC Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), PX Mart COO Tony Tsai (蔡篤昌), actress Vicky Tong (童秀娟) and her child together appealed to the public to get government-funded seasonal flu shots at a designated PX Mart branch or contracted healthcare facilities as long as they are eligible. This is a way to put the “money-saving philosophyof health economics” into practice.
Taiwan CDC Director-General Chou pointed out that seasonal flu vaccine offers healthy adults approximately 70-90% protection against influenza. To ensure the health and wellbeing of the people in Taiwan, Taiwan CDC has purchased 6 million doses of influenza vaccine for this year’s vaccination campaign. To provide the people in Taiwan with easy access to flu vaccines, nearly 4,000 locations for vaccinations are available in the nation from October onwards. Chou expressed special appreciation to PX Mart, which is considered everyone’s good neighbor, for offering 27 branches as the stations for walk-in vaccinations, fulfilling the social responsibility of corporate citizenship and acting as a role model to be emulated in the industry. Chou also thanked the staff of the local health bureaus in Keelung City, Taipei City,New Taipei City, Taoyuan City, Yilan County, Taitung County, Tainan City and Kaohsiung City for their efforts in setting up the walk-in vaccination stationsto ensure the smooth operation of the vaccination campaign.
PX Mart COO Tony Tsai said that PX Mart aimed to serve the society by making every effort to participate social activities. For this year’s flu vaccination campaign, PX Mart did not only offer 27 supermarkets as vaccination stations, but also provided a 700cc bottle of water as a free gift to any individual who receives the flu shot at a PX Mart store. In addition, to help promote seasonal influenza vaccination, PX Mart also helps advertise the government-funded vaccination campaign through its stores, official website and official LINE account to increase the coverage of the campaign. Tsai urged allthe eligible individuals to get the flu shots as soon as possible. Tsai also wished to encourage more businesses to join the campaign, work with the government to fight against flu and demonstrate their corporate social responsibilities.
Actress Vicky Tong attended the event with her daughter and got vaccinated. Tong urged all the people who are eligible for vaccination to receivethe government-funded flu vaccines at the vaccination stations with no hesitation. It is best to get vaccinated early, before the flu season really gets under the way. The vaccine is a preemptive measure to protect people against influenza virus infection.
Taiwan CDC stressed that an annual seasonal flu vaccine is the best way to prevent influenza. Anyone who is eligible for the government-fundedflu vaccine is recommended to get a flu shot to reduce the risk of getting sick with seasonal flu. For more information, please sign up for Taiwan CDC’s LINE chatbot on (https://goo.gl/BUFT1r) for instant replies to inquiries , visit the Taiwan CDC official website at http://www.cdc.gov.twor call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline,1922 (or 0800-001922).