The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday doubled down on its criticism of the government’s COVID-19 vaccine policy, saying it has failed to make adequate preparations for emerging variants.
Former KMT chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) wrote on Facebook about the spread of the Delta, Delta-plus and other COVID-19 variants that are more infectious and resistant to vaccines than the Alpha variant that is dominant in Taiwan.
The outbreak that began last month shows that border controls alone cannot stop the virus’ spread, Chu wrote, adding that the nation’s reliance on foreign-donated vaccines and delays in shipments of its orders bode ill for the country.
Photo: Hsu Chuo-hsun, Taipei Times
“We have made no preparations to administer three [COVID-19] vaccine jabs or acquire second-generation vaccines,” he said. “Experts have recommended giving three shots.”
A study reported in a research letter on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine said that administration of a third dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine “to solid-organ transplant recipients significantly improved the immunogenicity of the vaccine,” although it did not make a recommendation about mass inoculation.
Taiwan should pursue international COVID-19 vaccine contract manufacturing orders, purchase huge quantities of vaccines and develop second-generation vaccines domestically, Chu said.
Separately, asked about some KMT members’ description of Taiwan as a “vaccine beggar,” Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) on Tuesday said it could dishearten the nation’s friends.
“Naturally, donors would feel that this is a setback; these countries would then reassess whether to provide further shipments,” he said.
KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) yesterday accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of “politicizing pandemic policy.”
Foreign vaccine donations came at the expense of the “cries and lives of the nation’s citizens,” and are proof that the international community recognizes the incompetence of the government, Chiang said during a radio interview.
Hsieh was twisting facts and shifting blame when he should be demanding that President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration obtain more internationally certified vaccines, he said.
The KMT supports Taiwan developing its own COVID-19 vaccines, but their safety should be backed by international certification, or Taiwan’s biotechnology industry would be damaged if locally made vaccines turn out to be problematic, he said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
RSS