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.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS