Doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are to be made ready for inoculations of medical personnel from Monday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said last night.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, told a 7pm news conference that experts suggested that he or Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) be the first to be vaccinated to assuage public concerns.
Chen said that he was amenable to such an arrangement.
Photo courtesy of the Central Epidemic Command Center
The news conference was held following a meeting of experts, who cited EU statistics that said there was insufficient evidence to show that the vaccine is a direct cause of blood clots.
However, the vaccine cannot be completely ruled out as a cause of disseminated intravascular coagulation, so those who are to be inoculated should discuss their medical history and potential risks with their doctor, the experts said.
People using contraceptive medication or who are undergoing hormone therapy should not be inoculated, they said.
People who have had shortness of breath, chest or stomach pains, swelling or cold limbs, severe migraines, blurred vision, persistent bleeding or ecchymosis within 14 days of receiving a dose should consult a doctor, they said.
The CECC said that the first batch of 116,500 doses had been examined and put in storage by Thursday before distribution to local governments began yesterday.
Meanwhile, Taiwan reported six new imported cases of COVID-19, bringing the nation’s total number of cases to 1,004, the CECC said.
One of three cases from the Philippines arrived in Taiwan on Feb. 28, the CECC said.
On arrival, the man presented proof of a negative COVID-19 test obtained within three days of his flight and went into mandatory quarantine for 14 days, it said.
He was tested on March 17 at his own expense, with the result returning positive yesterday, it said.
The two other cases from the Philippines also presented negative COVID-19 test results on arrival in Taiwan on March 4, it said, adding that near the end of their mandatory quarantine, they were tested and found to be infected with COVID-19.
A case from the US is an American who tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 14 in the US, but showed proof of a negative test upon arrival in Taiwan on Feb. 7 with her family for work purposes, the CECC said.
It said that the woman had been quarantined at a hotel until Feb. 22, when she moved to another hotel with her family, it said.
On Wednesday, the woman took another test, as she was preparing to return home, and it came back positive yesterday, the CECC said.
A man from Paraguay tested positive for COVID-19 in his country on Jan. 16, but he arrived in Taiwan on March 5, via Brazil and Dubai, with proof of a recent negative test, the center said.
He tested negative on March 6, but a test on Thursday, near the end of his 14-day quarantine, came back positive yesterday, it said.
A fisherman from Indonesia who arrived in Taiwan on March 5 tested positive at the end of his quarantine period, the CECC said.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS