People in Taiwan rush to get flu vaccine following Barbie Hsu's passing

Demand for vaccines in Taiwan has spiked following the death of Taiwanese star Barbie Hsu, also known as Big S.

According to Hong Kong media The Standard, Taiwan's free flu vaccine supply dropped by 40,000 doses from 200,000 to 160,000 overnight from Feb. 3 to 4.

Taipei's Department of Health has also estimated that its free supply of flu vaccines will run out soon.

Meanwhile, Shin Min Daily News reported that the city of Tainan had all of its influenza vaccination slots filled out in less than three hours on Feb. 3, despite having over 7,000 shots available initially.

The same day also saw the website for Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control website temporarily go offline.

Taiwan's Health and Welfare minister, Chiu Tai-yuan, said there is a need to prioritise high-risk groups such as the elderly, amidst a risk of some cities and counties running out of their supplies of flu vaccines.

Chiu added that Taiwan still has more than two million doses of the vaccine available.

Clinics in Taiwan and Hong Kong report increase in enquiries and registration

Both Hong Kong and Taiwanese media reported that clinics have also seen an increase in the number of enquiries and registrations for the flu vaccine.

According to ETToday, a clinic in Kaohsiung was packed with people as soon as it opened, after members of the public received information about how it had 40 shots of the flu vaccine available.

A few members of the public whom ETToday spoke to all cited Hsu's death as the reason for their decision to get the vaccine.

A family doctor in Hong Kong, Lam Wing-wo, was quoted by The Standard as saying that he has witnessed a 30 per cent increase in vaccination enquiries.

He attributed the shift to an increase sense of awareness stemming from Hsu's passing.

Medical expert calls for calm, urges those who have already recovered not to take vaccine

In the meantime, a physician from Taipei City Hospital, Jiang Guanyu (transliteration) has called for calm amongst the public amidst a potential shortage of the flu vaccine, SETN reported.

According to Jiang, people who have experienced flu symptoms and recovered within the last three months, including the elderly, do not need to take the vaccine.

This is due to the body having built up a relatively strong immunity against the flu.

He added that people who have not been infected before, face a risk of being infected at work, or have a weak constitution, could face issues in trying to access the vaccine.

Top screenshot via PTS/YouTube