Sun, Jun 12, 2022 page3

• COVID-19 test kit rationing rules eased

  CASES OF MISC-C RISE: Based on the incidence rate of MIS-C in the US, there could be about 650 cases in Taiwan within a year, a doctor told a CDC conference yesterday

  • By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
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  The rationing scheme for purchasing rapid COVID-19 test kits at pharmacies will no longer require people to buy the kits on different days of the week based on the number at the end of their identification card number, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.

  Starting from tomorrow, people who have not yet bought a pack of five test kits in the current round can bring their National Health Insurance card to a contracted pharmacy to purchase a pack on any day of the week, while other rules remain the same, he said.

  Meanwhile, children aged five through 11 are advised to get a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine with an interval of at least four to eight weeks from the first dose, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported five cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

  

  Doctors treat a boy affected by multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) at National Taiwan University Hospital’s Hsinchu Branch in an undated photograph.

  Photo courtesy of National Taiwan University Hospital via CNA

  Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC spokesman, said an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting on Friday suggested the interval between the two COVID-19 vaccine doses and that a mix-and-match approach is not recommended for children.

  The experts at the meeting recommended children aged five through 11 receive two vaccine doses at least four to eight weeks apart, he said, adding that the two doses should be the same brand, with the exception of special cases, such as children who have an adverse reaction after the first dose.

  Chuang said they also recommended that healthcare providers, including registered health professionals and non-health professionals at healthcare facilities, assess their infection risk and willingness to receive a second booster dose at least five months after the first booster shot.

  The center reported 79,633 new COVID-19 infections, 79,598 local and 65 imported cases.

  The most local cases were reported in Kaohsiung, with 13,047, followed by Taichung with 11,341, New Taipei City with 10,728, Tainan with 7,038, Taoyuan with 6,487, Changhua County with 5,991 and Taipei with 5,382.

  CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said 446 new moderate-to-severe cases and 211 deaths associated with COVID-19 were confirmed.

  Of the deaths, 105 people were aged 80 or older, 198 had underlying health conditions, 94 were unvaccinated and 141 did not get a booster vaccine, he said.

  Five cases of MIS-C were reported among the 185 severe cases, Lo said, adding that they were four boys and one girl aged between two and 10 years, and that they had mild symptoms when they tested positive for COVID-19 between late April and mid-May, but developed new symptoms after three to four weeks.

  Lo said an eight-year-old boy in the group also developed acute appendicitis, but he has recovered after treatment and returned home on May 31, while the other four children are still hospitalized.

  Parents of children who tested positive for COVID-19 within six weeks are advised to seek medical attention if their child has a continuous fever and any of the other six main symptoms — abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, rashes, red eyes and dizziness, he said, adding that a vaccine can reduce the risk of MIS-C by 90 percent.

  He said MIS-C symptoms also include swollen lymph nodes and a sore throat.

  A doctor said in a CDC conference yesterday morning that, based on the incidence rate of MIS-C in the US, there could be an estimated 650 cases in Taiwan within a year.

  Asked for comment, Lo said the MIS-C incidence rate from the US study was about 316 per million, but Asian children in the study had a lower incidence rate, and local experts agree that the rate could be lower in Taiwan.

  Based on the cases reported so far — eight out of approximately 100,000 children — the rate would be about 80 per million, but it could increase, Chen said.
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