A shortage of intravenous (IV) fluid looks set to continue for at least several months, after officials on Wednesday announced that the nation’s largest producer is unlikely to resume production before next year.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found Y F Chemical Corp, which makes about 70 percent of the nation’s IV fluid, to be in violation of 63 minor, moderate or severe regulations during inspections earlier this year and ordered the firm to halt production on May 10.
Asked at a news conference on Wednesday if the company would not be permitted to resume production before the end of this year, FDA Director-General Wu Shou-mei (吳秀梅) replied: “It seems so.”
Photo: Taipei Times
“These deficiencies must all be corrected before we allow them to resume production,” Wu said, adding that the agency would conduct another inspection after the implementation of the corrections, including a review of the company’s software, hardware, personnel training and operations.
The shutdown of Y F Chemical has already begun to place a severe strain on IV fluid supplies.
The Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations on May 18 warned that major hospitals could be forced to postpone surgeries and stop admitting patients if more is not done to address the issue.
The company had been producing large-bag saline for injection at a rate equivalent to 1.96 million bags per month, based on a volume of 500cc per bag, the FDA said.
It is estimated that stocks of that type of IV fluid would run out in the middle of this month, resulting in a shortage of 1.1 million bags this month and 1.5 million bags next month, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has previously said.
To address the domestic shortage of IV fluid, the FDA on May 29 initiated an emergency scheme to import saline from overseas.
The first shipment of 100,000 bags of saline from Malaysia was to arrive at the Port of Taipei on Wednesday evening, while a second shipment of 216,000 bags from Vietnam is expected to arrive tomorrow, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) said.
As shipments of saline would arrive continuously from this week, announcements would be made whenever a shipment is unloaded, Lin said.
Six local companies are also working to increase the domestic production of saline, Wu said.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS