Taiwan yesterday reported 15,123 new COVID-19 infections and 30 deaths from the disease, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reported.
The new cases represented a 7.1 percent increase from the same day a week earlier, CECC data showed.
The 106,889 cases reported from Dec. 11 to Saturday is a 6.93 percent increase from the previous week, CECC data showed.
Photo: CNA
The 219 deaths from the disease over the same period is a 14.06 percent increase from the previous seven-day period, the data showed.
The deceased reported yesterday ranged from age 40 to older than 90. All but three had underlying health conditions, while 19 were unvaccinated against COVID-19, the CECC said.
Separately, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has agreed to pay NT$20,000 (US$651.25) under the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) to a Taichung teenager who developed myocarditis and pericarditis after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The decision came after a VICP meeting last month ruled that individuals should receive compensation for serious adverse effects likely linked to any vaccine, even if no direct connection between the vaccine and an adverse event is definitively established.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman said on Saturday that the Taichung teenager developed chest discomfort and nausea four days after receiving a dose of the Pfizer-BNT vaccine.
Doctors diagnosed the teenager with myocarditis and pericarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle and irritation of surrounding heart tissue respectively.
The meeting’s panel said the heart conditions were documented adverse effects sometimes caused by mRNA vaccines, and awarded NT$20,000 in compensation.
That was one of 89 compensation claims discussed at the VICP meeting on Nov. 24.
The panel awarded compensation to 10 of 89 claimants, with two related to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, six related to the AstraZeneca vaccine and the other two related to the Moderna vaccine.
The other successful Pfizer-BioNTech claimant was also awarded NT$20,000, while the successful AstraZeneca claimants were awarded amounts ranging from NT$10,000 to NT$300,000.
The claimants in the Moderna vaccine cases were awarded NT$14,000 and NT$300,000.
One of the two people who received NT$300,000 in compensation was a Taoyuan woman in her 30s who developed thrombosis with thrombocytopenia — a blood clot and low platelet count respectively — documented adverse effects of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
The other claimant who was paid NT$300,000 was a Hualien woman in her 80s who received the Moderna vaccine. The panel could not establish a connection between the vaccine and her heart symptoms as she was not in the age group in which the symptoms are commonly seen, and had underlying conditions, including high blood pressure and diabetes, and had also had a stroke.
However, she was compensated given that her symptoms began shortly after being vaccinated.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
RSS