However, due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the public's willingness to get influenza vaccination this year has increased, and many places have seen the phenomenon of "short-shot" of vaccination points. Many netizens even lamented: Make an appointment with an

Source: China News Network

Since September, many places across the country have successively launched the influenza vaccination work this year. After the National Day holiday, vaccination sites in Beijing and other places have gradually ushered in the peak of vaccination.

However, due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the public's willingness to get influenza vaccination this year has increased, and many places have seen the phenomenon of "short-shot" of vaccination points. Many netizens even lamented: Make an appointment with an influenza vaccine is comparable to grab a ticket during the Spring Festival travel rush.

Beijing citizens receive influenza vaccine at community health service center. Photo by Zhang Ni, China News Network,

vaccination point source "shortly". It takes a quick hand-to-hand speed to get influenza vaccination

9. On the first day after the holiday, Ms. Wang, a citizen of Beijing, came to the , Fengtai District, , Dahongmen Community Health Service Center, near her home for adult flu vaccination. She told reporters that it is not easy to get a vaccine this year.

"Because I have children at home, I used to get influenza vaccination every year, but I didn't have to grab the number in the past, but this year I had to try my best. The accounts in community hospitals in the morning were almost always 'shot'."

Ms. Wang said that this year, I clearly felt that more people around me want to get influenza vaccination. Due to the special reasons of the epidemic, I also prepared in advance and grabbed a source online. I rushed from my unit to get the flu vaccine at noon. For her who has children at home, being able to get a flu shot this year is a more guarantee.

reporter saw at the Dahongmen Community Health Service Center that there were endless citizens vaccinated with adult flu vaccine, many of which were dispatched by the whole family, and Ms. Li, a citizen, was one of them.

"I have been following the information about the influenza vaccine since September. I was afraid that public hospitals would not be able to evacuate, so I consulted two private hospitals first. As a result, one of them told me that I would evacuate until November as soon as possible, and the other said that I would book first and wait for notification when I could get it."

Ms. Li tried to make an appointment for the vaccine from the community hospital. She said that she was staying by her phone on time at the time of release and grabbed the account for the whole family.

This phenomenon occurs more than just at one vaccination site.

In Haidian District, Beijing, a staff member of the Health Care Department of Zhongguancun Hospital said that the number of adult flu vaccine appointments in the hospital this year is far more than in previous years. If people in the jurisdiction want to get vaccinated, they can only wait for the system to make an appointment to grab the account every day. This situation has not been seen in previous years.

"From the start of vaccination on September 25th to the present, we have received nearly 100 children under the age of 3 and more than 200 adult vaccines, which is far beyond previous years." Zhang Qing, head of the health care department of the Dahongmen Community Health Service Center in Fengtai District, introduced in an interview with reporters.

Zhang Qing said that the community health service center received about 800 doses of adult flu vaccination last year, but based on the number of people booked this year and the number of people in the jurisdiction, it is expected that the vaccination this year will double compared with last year.

Influenza vaccine Photo by Zhang Ni, China News Service

Added vaccination sites and increased supply of enterprises, and vaccines are already on the way!

In August this year, WHO officials publicly stated that due to the indistinguishable symptoms of COVID-19 and influenza, and limited medical resources, countries should increase the vaccination rate of influenza vaccines, resist the flu, and focus on fighting the epidemic.

vaccine expert Tao Lina also emphasized in an interview with China News Service that in the fall and winter of this year, the reason why influenza vaccination is important mainly considers two factors: First, from the perspective of the overall epidemic control, if patients have been vaccinated with influenza vaccine and then develop fever, they can consider less influenza factors to reduce interference with the judgment of the epidemic; Second, there is evidence that if a dual infection of new coronary pneumonia and influenza occurs, the symptoms will be aggravated.

Obviously, as this year enters autumn and winter, the demand for influenza vaccines has increased sharply. Faced with the problem of "hard to get a shot", various departments are also actively taking measures to alleviate the tightness of vaccine supply.

At the national level, at the end of September, the Comprehensive Group of the State Council’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism for the Response to the New Coronavirus Pneumonia Epidemic released the 2020 version of the National Influenza Prevention and Control Work Plan.It has been clearly stated that convenient services should be provided to the public through measures such as increasing grassroots influenza vaccination sites, starting vaccination early, extending vaccination cycle, and increasing daily service hours.

This year, various places have also adjusted the supply of vaccines.

Take Beijing as an example. This year, all vaccination work is subject to appointment vaccination. In order to facilitate citizens' vaccination, Beijing has set up 446 free influenza vaccination sites and 480 self-paid influenza vaccination sites in medical and health institutions. In addition, Beijing's purchase of free influenza vaccines this year increased by 21% compared with 2019, and the purchase of self-paid vaccines was 2.1 times the number of vaccinated last year.

In Hubei, the planned supply of influenza vaccines in Hubei Province has increased from an average of more than 600,000 in the past three years to more than 3 million this year.

"Our daily appointment number source has more than doubled compared to the past, and we have also made plans in advance. The amount of vaccines received this year is about twice as much as last year. The amount of vaccines received for free people such as students and the elderly has also increased by about one-third." Zhang Qing told reporters.

She explained that because the vaccines are coming one after another, they need to apply for one phase after another, so the public still needs to wait patiently.

On the supply side, facing this year's high flu season, major vaccine companies are also working overtime to produce.

Hualan Bio's secretary Xie Junmin recently stated that the company is working overtime to produce influenza vaccines to meet the current shortage situation in various places. It is predicted that the company's trivalent influenza vaccine production will be nearly 3 million, and the production of quadrivalent influenza vaccine will increase from the planned 16 million to 20 million.

Relevant person in charge of Sinovac Biotech introduced that as of the end of September this year, the number of trivalent influenza vaccines that the company's trivalent influenza vaccines has exceeded 2.95 million, and the total number of quadrivalent influenza vaccines has exceeded 960,000.

Sinopharm Group China Biologics disclosed that after learning about the recommended strains for the new year influenza vaccine announced by the WHO, it quickly started the production of influenza virus lysis vaccine to meet the demand for the arrival of the influenza season. Data as of the end of September showed that the number of trivalent influenza vaccines received more than 2.05 million this year, and the number of quadrivalent influenza vaccines exceeded 3.08 million.

vaccines do not need to be vaccinated in groups, it is more important to take good protection during the epidemic season!

Although the demand for influenza vaccination has increased this year, local disease control departments have also issued reminders to the public: there is no need to crowd out vaccinations!

Previously, the Guizhou Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that the province's people's willingness to receive influenza vaccination this year has increased, and the vaccination peak has been advanced. It is expected that the supply of influenza vaccines will reach its peak from October this year to January 2021.

At the same time, the Guizhou Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention reminds the general public not to crowd out vaccination. Vaccination can be done throughout the epidemic season. Vaccination can be made through the Internet, telephone, etc. All community health service centers, township health centers and other vaccination units can carry out vaccination services.

Experts from Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention also said that influenza vaccine is a non-immunization program vaccine, and is self-funded and voluntarily received. It is recommended that citizens with influenza vaccination plans call the nearby vaccination clinic in a timely manner, consult in a timely manner, view objectively, and receive vaccination in an orderly manner.

In addition, experts stress that in the case of shortage of vaccines, citizens who have not received vaccination do not need to panic. Maintaining good personal hygiene habits is an effective way to prevent respiratory infectious diseases. The public can prevent influenza virus infection by washing hands frequently, ventilating more, wearing masks, less going to places where people gather, strengthening physical exercise in autumn and winter, and enhancing physical fitness.

In order to prevent the public from crowding to the hospital for vaccination, causing the gathering of people, each vaccination site has also made appointments in time.

"At present, we regard every half hour as a period of time, and only 7 to 8 sources are placed in the same period, so that the public can go to the hospital in batches and orderly manner."

Zhang Qing told reporters that in order to reduce the risk of epidemic transmission, the community health service center has strictly controlled the flow of people in each period. She also reminded the public that there is no need to panic too much because of not having an appointment for the flu vaccine in a short period of time. Personal protection should be taken in normal times and just make an appointment and wait in an orderly manner. (Reporter Zhang Ni)