Two Control Yuan members on Friday said they plan to launch an investigation into government-funded vaccinations against the human papilloma virus (HPV) for seventh-grade girls, on grounds that the policy lacks necessary risk evaluations and other considerations.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare in March announced that seventh-grade girls would be able to receive the vaccine starting in November, citing it as an effective method to prevent HPV infections and cancers caused by it, mainly cervical cancer.
Control Yuan members Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲) and Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) in a press release said that “related risk evaluations, supporting measures and a verification mechanism to test its effectiveness seem incomplete.”
Having sex with an infected person is believed to be the most common way of HPV transmission, they said, adding that it takes 10 to 20 years for an HPV infection to develop into cancer, so the effectiveness of the vaccine can only be verified in about 20 years.
However, severe side effects have been reported around the world for the HPV vaccine, which can seriously affect patients’ lives, they said, adding that although the HPV vaccine has been sold in Taiwan for more than 10 years, it was only recently evaluated by local governments, without any other risk evaluations or follow-up studies to measure its effectiveness.
They asked whether the ministry has evaluated the risks and side effects tied to the vaccine, and whether it has followed medical ethics and the principle of informed consent by informing vaccine receivers that they still need to regularly undergo Pap smear tests.
They asked what follow-up mechanisms have been prepared, as well as why boys were excluded from the policy when HPV infections are common among males as well.
Ministry Health Promotion Administration Director-General Wang Ying-wei (王英偉) said the policy was proposed after an evaluation of similar policies available in more than 80 nations.
Public health policies need to consider the balance between cost and effect, which is why the first phase would be aimed at girls only, he said, adding that the agency would also raise public awareness on the importance of undergoing regular Pap smear tests in addition to vaccinations.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard