COVID-19 vaccinations on Friday soared 66 percent above the daily average, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, after it on Thursday announced a two-phase plan for reopening borders.
The center said it would ease its “3+4” quarantine requirement and mandatory COVID-19 testing for arrivals on Sept. 29, before scrapping mandatory quarantines for arrivals and allowing international group tours from Oct. 13.
After the announcement, many people began booking international flights, and the daily number of COVID-19 vaccines administered increased sharply to 45,713 doses compared with last week’s daily average of about 27,000 doses, the center said.
Photo: CNA
Some countries still require international travelers to be vaccinated to enter or be exempt from quarantine.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said 38,157 new local and 214 imported COVID-19 cases as well as 51 deaths were confirmed yesterday.
The daily caseload is about 4.1 percent lower than a day earlier, and 3.1 percent lower than on Saturday last week, he said.
Among the deceased, 48 had chronic diseases and 43 had not received a booster shot, the CECC said.
Among the severe cases was a three-year-old boy, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Aug. 16, did not have a chronic illness and was not vaccinated, Chuang said.
The boy on Sept. 16 again began experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, including abdominal pain and vomiting, and on Monday last week developed rashes on his face and torso, Chuang said. After he developed pink eye and had low blood pressure, he was admitted to an intensive care unit for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
His condition improved after receiving immunoglobulin therapy, and he was transferred out of intensive care on Friday, Chuang said.
There have been 223 cases of severe COVID-19 in children this year, including 142 with MIS-C, 31 with encephalitis, 24 with pneumonia and 11 with croup, and 33 have died, the center said.
Several cities and counties, including Taipei, New Taipei City, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, yesterday began administering Moderna’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine as booster shots.
The vaccine targets the original 2019 strain of SARS-CoV-2 and the Omicron subvariant BA.1, and has been shown to protect against the BA.2 and BA.5 subvariants.
The Taipei Department of Health said it provided nearly 40,000 slots for booking the vaccine on its online booking platform, and 18,622 slots had been filled as of yesterday.
Eligible recipients include people aged 65 and older, long-term care facility residents and immunocompromised adults, who have received a second vaccine dose or their last booster shot 84 days ago, it said.
They should bring their National Health Insurance card, identification card or residential permit, as well as their vaccination record card when getting vaccinated, it said.
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