Legislators yesterday urged the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) to give pregnant women and healthcare workers caring for them priority to receive messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines.
Legislators from various parties urged the center to add pregnant women to its COVID-19 vaccine priority list, with Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) citing Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology reports that pregnant women would best benefit from receiving mRNA vaccines, specifically the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.
Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) cited a New England Journal of Medicine article that said that contracting COVID-19 could affect a fetus, and recommended that the Moderna vaccine be administered to pregnant women, including those with a history of autoimmune diseases or thrombosis.
Photo: AFP
The exclusion of pregnant women puts their health at great risk, independent Legislator Chao Cheng-yu (趙正宇) said, adding that it would be difficult to separate women undergoing prenatal exams from other high-risk groups in a hospital.
Chao, without citing a source, said that research has shown that pregnant women who have contracted COVID-19 are at a higher risk of stillbirths or premature births, adding that mRNA vaccines, considered safer for pregnant women, should be administered to them as well as their healthcare workers.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Alex Fai (費鴻泰) cited statements from gynecology associations saying that pregnant women should receive mRNA vaccines, provided that there is sufficient supply.
The legislature is asking the Ministry of Health and Welfare to put pregnant women on the priority list for mRNA vaccines, he said.
Separately, the nation is next week to start administering 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine received last week as a donation from Japan.
People eligible to be inoculated can register at hospitals administering the vaccines, or online a week in advance or using kiosks at four major convenience store chains, the CECC said.
Those registering should verify where they are to receive the vaccine, it said, adding that those who do not meet the CECC’s criteria and attempt to register would not be entered into the system.
Healthcare workers are prioritized for receiving inoculation, which would be performed primarily at hospitals, the center said.
Should mass vaccinations begin, 300 hospitals, 200 Bureau of Health offices and 800 clinics would be made available to administer the vaccines, it added.
The central government would have vaccination stations across the nation, while local governments would also establish sites at governmental agencies, corporate offices or military bases.
Hospitals would be contracted to help with inoculation efforts should there be large crowds at smaller sites, while sports stadiums would be used during the holidays to offer vaccinations, the center said.
People can check their eligibility and priority by using their National Health Insurance card or other documents, it said.
Based on the current supply of vaccines, some would have to wait up to eight weeks between their first and second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, while those being inoculated with the Moderna vaccine need only wait 28 days between shots, sources said.
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