Taiwan has joined the WHO’s World Immunization Week campaign, and declared the week from today through April 30 as an immunization week to raise public awareness of how immunization saves live, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
Taiwan’s completion rate of various vaccines (HBV, 5-in-1, MMR, JE and VAR) for children under the age of three is as high as 94.1 percent, with the rate of primary doses exceeding 96 percent and the rate of booster doses exceeding 92 percent, CDC data showed.
“According to a general check of vaccine record cards held by first-graders, the completion rate of the three doses of HBV, or hepatitis B vaccine, is 98.24 percent, which is pretty impressive when compared with the 7.24 percent in the West Pacific Region as published by the WHO,” CDC Director-General Chang Feng-yee (張峰義) said.
Photo: CNA
While WHO member countries recently launched a new plan to control and eliminate measles and rubella, infants born after 2011 in Taiwan have a completion rate for the three doses of 5-in-1 (providing protection against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b) of 97.3 percent, and those born after 2010 have a 98.1 percent acceptance rate of the first dose of MMR (against measles, mumps and rubella), Chang said.
To reduce the incidence rate of invasive pneumococcal disease and the complications following the infection, Taiwan has also introduced the new pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, providing the vaccine to children between the ages of two and five from last month, the CDC said.
“Immunization can help boost the nation’s economic performance, as vaccinated people would be immune to infections that might cost both the infected and society dearly,” said Huang Li-min (黃立民), the committee convener of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Lee Ping-ing (李秉穎), a vaccine expert at Taiwan Immunization Vision and Strategy, urged the government to strengthen immunization education and lay to rest public concerns over vaccines.
Lee also called on the government to subsidize not only the vaccines, but also the medical attention provided by doctors, without whom the vaccination could not be administered.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS