Three more A(H1N1) cases raise total to 58; gov't looks to replenish vaccine supply

Shih Wen-yi, spokesman for the Center for Disease Control (CDC), noted that the CDC plans to purchase 10 million A(H1N1) vaccines in order to stave off the possibility of an occurrence of massive infections later this year during the flu season.

The CDC is also purchasing five million seasonal flu shots, Shih said.

According to data collected by the World Health Organization (WHO), the global pharmaceutical industry has an annual influenza vaccine production capacity of 4.9 billion doses.

But the figure still pales in comparison to the 6.5 billion required to meet the world demand.

Another three new A(H1N1) infections, including one that is indigenous to Taiwan, have been confirmed, Shih said.

This put the current tally of confirmed cases at 58, with two contracted locally.

Shih added that the initial eruption of the disease evolving into widespread transmission takes approximately three to six months.

This period is critical to the replenishing of inoculation supply, he said.

Beyond this timeframe, throwing money at the problem may not lead to more booster shots, said Shih.

Previously, the CDC said that the country will be receiving its first batch of vaccines later this fall.

Wong Chin-huey, president of the Academia Sinica, applauded efforts by Adimmune Corporation in setting up the island's first manufacturing plant for vaccine production.

He encouraged the support and purchase of locally made vaccines.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared an influenza A(H1N1) pandemic on June 11, but recognized the moderate overall severity of the outbreak.

As of June 15, a total of 76 countries had officially reported 35,928 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 163 deaths, according to the WHO.

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