The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said it plans to conduct antibody tests using blood donated from April to July to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 in the nation, with donors having the choice to opt out before Oct. 18.
To prevent the spread of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, the CECC on Aug. 23 introduced five enhanced COVID-19 monitoring measures, including a large-scale antibody study to understand the prevalence of COVID-19, the SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence achieved by vaccination or natural infection, and their geographical distribution and trends in Taiwan.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that 5,000 randomly selected blood samples taken by local blood donation centers between April 25 and July 3 would be used for the project.
Photo: CNA
The blood samples would be tested for antinuclear and spike protein antibodies, with only about 1 to 2 percent of donors during that period likely to be included in the study, CECC data showed.
Personal data will be removed from the blood samples when the Taiwan Blood Services Foundation provides them to the Centers for Disease Control for testing and analysis, and the random sampling data will be destroyed by the foundation, the CECC said.
As the project involves human subjects, the plan was approved by an institutional review board, Chen said.
However, to protect the rights of donors, they have the choice of opting out of the study, he added.
People who have donated blood during this period and who do not wish to be included in the project should call the CECC’s 1922 hotline before Oct. 18 and provide their “blood bag number” or their “name, identification card number and birth date” to be removed from the sampling pool, he said.
The CECC yesterday also reported no new local COVID-19 infections or deaths, but seven imported cases from Malaysia, Vietnam and the US.
As more COVID-19 restrictions have been eased and several recreational venues were allowed to reopen from yesterday, workers from other types of recreational venues that remain suspended have called for a protest today.
Asked for comment, Chen said that 55 local infections were reported last month, or an average of fewer than two cases per day, and no local infections have been observed for six consecutive days, so the local COVID-19 situation is steadily being brought under control, but easing restrictions and reopening businesses must be done gradually.
Asked if inspectors would be deployed at beaches or mountain trails during the weekends to remind people to wear a mask, Chen said “the public can remind each other to wear a mask when it is getting crowded.”
He added that the CECC is likely to ease the mask mandate for sports activities next, such as jogging, riverside activities or hiking, but some types of sports involve frequent body contact, so participants might still be required to wear a mask.
Chen also reported that 208,307 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered on Monday, bringing the nation’s first-dose vaccination coverage to 57.67 percent, or 71.72 doses administered per 100 people.
As the center has been holding on to the principle of only announcing the arrival of imported vaccines when the flight has taken off or already arrived in Taiwan, “good news” about the Moderna vaccine would be announced in the next couple of days, Chen said.
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