Ministry puts nannies at risk
Our family employs a nanny to help take care of our children. She anxiously told us that she and others in her position were required to attend a weekend job training session, and that if she did not attend, she could be disqualified from doing her job.
As working nannies, the attendees are all looking after babies and young children, and some of them could have up to four children on their hands — none of whom have been vaccinated, given that the minimum age for COVID-19 vaccination in Taiwan is 12.
At a time when COVID-19 is spreading fast, our nanny and others were worried about the risks associated with a large cluster of people attending an in-person training session.
I believe that parents are just as worried as their nannies are, so I told the Kaohsiung City Government that I thought the training should be done online instead. However, a staff member at Kaohsiung’s Social Affairs Bureau said that these nanny courses receive central government funding and it is up to the Ministry of Health and Welfare to decide what form they take.
The staff member said that various counties and cities have raised the issue with the ministry, but it said that it would collect related information and hold a meeting next month to consider whether the in-person courses that are being held all over Taiwan should be done online instead.
Just as COVID-19 is breaking out all over Taiwan, the central government’s reaction is to wait until May before holding a meeting and deciding what to do about these training sessions. This is the response given by a subordinate office of the health ministry, which is in charge of fighting COVID-19.
Nannies visit many homes, so if there is any risk of infection, they have the potential to set off community outbreaks just as scattered sparks ignite a prairie fire. All the more so because the infants and toddlers in their care are all unvaccinated.
If any person who attends an in-person training course is later confirmed to have COVID-19 or to have been in contact with a confirmed case, all the nannies who take part in the session might need to undergo health self-management or isolation, causing an immediate problem for all the families involved and the care of their children.
Is this a price that the health ministry is prepared to pay? Are the health minister and ministry staff willing to help parents all over Taiwan look after their children?
Yang Chih-cheng
Kaohsiung
WHA can learn from Taiwan
I applaud a recent comment by US Deputy Secretary of State Brian McKeon urging WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to grant Taiwan observer status at its upcoming 75th World Health Assembly (WHA) from May 22 to 28 (“US official presses WHO for Taiwan to participate at WHA,” April 10, page 2).
Taiwan held observer status at annual WHA meetings between 2009 and 2016. Since 2017, the WHO has refused to invite Taiwan to attend the WHA due to opposition from China.
Taiwan could offer valuable contributions and lessons learned from its approach to global health security issues, and WHO leadership and all responsible nations should recognize that excluding the interests of 23.9 million people at the WHA serves only to imperil Taiwan and the US’ shared global health objectives.
Nevertheless, I was grateful to see that the US supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation in WHO forums and the WHA, as the international community should be able to benefit from the experience of all partners, including Taiwan’s successful contribution to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Global health and its security challenges do not respect borders nor recognize political disputes. There is no reasonable justification for Taiwan’s continued exclusion from this forum, as the international community would appreciate the value of Taiwan’s expertise, resources and dynamism in the international community, which can be elevated through meaningful participation in international organizations.
Kent Wang
Washington
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