TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Medical staff will be offered cash bonuses to increase influenza vaccinations among the elderly and children under 6 until the end of the year, the health ministry said on Friday (Nov. 15).
The health ministry said in a release that it is offering NT$58.5 million (US$1.8 million) in incentives to boost resistance to influenza among these vulnerable groups. It said the rewards will be given to the doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other personnel who carry out the vaccinations.
The health ministry added that from Friday until Dec. 31 medical workers can receive NT$100 for each dose of the influenza vaccine given to the elderly or children, and NT$50 for each subsequent dose given to the same individual. The ministry said if 50% of elderly people or 60% of children in a given county are vaccinated the reward per dose will increase from NT$50 to NT$75.
The health ministry defines elderly people as those over 75 years old and young children as those born on or after Sept. 2, 2018.
The ministry said around 1.38 million elderly people had been vaccinated for influenza nationwide as of Thursday (Nov. 14). It said the figure for young children was around 440,000.
Half of the elderly people in Lienchiang County and 60% of young children in Lienchiang County, Keelung, and Chiayi have been vaccinated, the ministry said. It said for this reason the NT$75 incentive will be available in those areas immediately.
The health ministry said research had found encouragement from medical staff is key to getting people vaccinated. It said it hoped medical staff would take the initiative to encourage people visiting clinics and hospitals to get the influenza vaccine and to go into the community to administer it.
The health ministry’s Centers for Disease Control Spokesperson Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said he believes some are not motivated to get vaccinated because of the recent typhoon holiday and discovery of a discolored batch of influenza vaccines in October. However, he said as influenza season approaches, he hopes medical institutions will work to increase coverage, per CNA.
