亞洲多國加大流感疫苗供應 以防止流感和新冠併發

流感季將至，而新冠疫情卻還未結束。爲了防止流感和新冠疫情併發令醫療系統崩潰，亞洲多國都大幅增加了流感疫苗的供應量，還擴大了免費接種流感疫苗的人羣。

Some Asian countries are rolling out early and more aggressive influenza vaccination programs this year, seeking to reduce the potential of people contracting the flu and COVID-19 simultaneously, crippling healthcare systems.

一些亞洲國家今年早早推出了更積極的流感防疫計劃，以降低人們同時感染流感和新冠病毒的可能性，防止醫療系統因此崩潰。

With a second or third wave of the coronavirus pandemic looming for many countries, tackling this year's flu season – typically December through February – has taken on increased urgency.

由於多國面臨着第二輪或第三輪新冠疫情的威脅，做好今年的流感季（通常是12月至2月期間）流感防控工作變得更加緊迫。

In Japan, the health ministry is preparing 31.2 million flu shots, up seven percent from last year and the highest amount since 2015. Officials are also urging symptomatic patients to call medical hotlines before going for testing to avoid contagion at hospitals.

在日本，衛生部（厚生勞動省）正在準備3120萬支流感疫苗，比去年多了7%，數量是2015年來最多的。衛生部官員也敦促有症狀的患者在做檢測前撥打醫療熱線電話，以避免在醫院感染他人。

"We are going to focus our medical resources on the severely ill in anticipation of the seasonal influenza epidemic," Takeshi Enami, a Japanese health ministry official said last week after a meeting of Disease experts.

日本衛生部官員江波武志上週在參加完一次疾控專家會議後表示：“在流感季到來之前我們將把醫療資源集中在重症患者身上。”

The World Health Organization has urged global widespread flu vaccinations this year, amid concerns the same people who are most vulnerable to risks from COVID-19, such as the elderly and those with respiratory conditions, are also at greatest risk for the flu.

世界衛生組織今年已經敦促全球各國開展廣泛的流感疫苗接種工作，因爲擔心最容易感染新冠病毒的人羣患上流感的風險也最大，比如老年人和有呼吸系統疾病的人。

Data on the number of annual flu cases across Asia is limited, although Japan had about 12 million cases in the 2018/19 season, according to an official source.

關於亞洲各國每年流感病例數量的數據很有限，不過官方來源顯示，日本在2018-19的流感季約有1200萬流感病例。

In South Korea, health authorities are procuring 30 million flu vaccines for the winter season, up 20 percent from last year. Around 19 million people will be inoculated for free, covering a third of the country's population, up from 13.8 million a year ago.

在韓國，衛生部門正在爲冬季採購3000萬支流感疫苗，比去年增加了20%。約有1900萬人將免費接種流感疫苗，涵蓋了韓國三分之一的人口，相比去年的1380萬有所增加。

Officials are also extending the demographic window for free vaccination, this year covering children from six months to 18, adults over 61 and pregnant women.

韓國官方還將擴大免費接種流感疫苗的人羣，今年將涵蓋6個月到18歲的孩子、61歲以上的成人以及孕婦。

South Korea's biggest flu vaccine maker GC Pharma told Reuters it will make over 10 million flu shots for this season, up from the 8.5 million doses last year.

韓國最大的流感疫苗製造商GC製藥公司告訴路透社說，這個流感季將會生產超1000萬支流感疫苗，相比去年的850萬支增加了。

In China, some local authorities have reported a surge in demand. Disease prevention authorities in the Changning district of Shanghai city told local media they expect demand for flu vaccines in the autumn and winter to increase some 50 percent from previous years.

在中國，一些地方政府報告稱疫苗需求量激增。上海長寧區疾控中心告訴當地媒體稱，他們預期今年秋冬的流感疫苗需求量將比往年增加約50%。

In Australia, where the flu season runs roughly from June to September, officials procured 16.5 million flu shots, up from 13.2 million last year.

在澳大利亞，流感季大約從6月持續到9月。澳大利亞官員共採購了1650萬支流感疫苗，去年爲1320萬支。

The moves in Asia echo similar efforts in North America and Europe. In the United States, pharmaceutical firms are expected to provide around 200 million flu vaccines this year, about 20 percent more than usual.

除了亞洲外，北美和歐洲也採取了類似的措施。在美國，製藥企業預期今年將提供約2億支流感疫苗，比往年增加20%左右。