TAIPEI >> Taiwan’s outgoing health minister has filed a lawsuit against seven pro-opposition TV commentators for questioning the safety of a flu vaccine — a move he says resulted in many deaths.

Taiwan imported 15 million doses of vaccine early last year, but with the commentators suggesting it could prove fatal, 60 percent remained unused. Authorities say 59 people died on the island from flu over the past year, and that none of them took the vaccine.

Health Minister Yang Chih-liang blamed the commentators for scaring victims away from getting flu vaccines. He filed the lawsuit Thursday, his last day on the job.

Commentator Cheng Hung-yi denies he acted improperly. Citing foreign experts, he says there was concern about the vaccine’s safety.