An incentive program for older people to get vaccinated is to be extended until the end of next month, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced yesterday.
People aged 65 or older, as well as members of indigenous communities aged 55 or older, would remain eligible for the reward of hygiene or educational products worth NT$500 for receiving doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, told the center’s daily news conference.
Those eligible could claim the reward after their first, second and third doses, Chen said, urging older people to get fully vaccinated as soon as possible to increase their protection against the disease.
Photo: CNA
The program, implemented on March 10, was initially set to expire today. The extension comes as the number of local COVID-19 has been rising since late March.
To date, 83.59 percent of residents in the nation have received at least one COVID-19 shot, while 78.68 percent have gotten two doses and 52.04 percent have received a booster shot, CECC data showed.
Among people aged 65 to 74, 86.9 percent have received at least one shot, 83.3 percent have gotten at least two doses, and 69.4 percent have also gotten a booster shot, the data showed.
The figures for those aged 75 or older who had their first, second and booster shots is 76.6 percent, 71.2 percent and 55.5 percent respectively.
The official list of facilities offering COVID-19 vaccinations is available at reurl.cc/7eW0AQ, the CECC said, adding that the list indicates whether each respective facility requires appointments.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
RSS