The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday added asthma to its list of severe COVID-19 risk factors, saying that people with the condition can be prescribed oral antiviral drugs. It also designated Evusheld as a second-line medication for the disease.
The CECC in a notice to healthcare providers said that asthma has been included as a risk factor for severe COVID-19, adding that doctors can prescribe oral antiviral drugs to people with asthma who are diagnosed with COVID-19, effective immediately.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said the decision was made by the CECC’s specialists’ panel after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest systematic review determined that asthma is associated with higher risk of developing severe COVID-19.
Photo, Reuters
The CECC in its notice also told healthcare providers that Evusheld, a monoclonal antibody, can be used as a second-line medication for COVID-19.
Lo said that Evusheld — a combination of two medications, tixagevimab and cilgavimab — offered pre-exposure prophylaxis for prevention of COVID-19 for people who are vulnerable to the virus, but cannot get vaccinated.
However, based on recent studies, the Food and Drug Administration has also approved it as a second-line treatment for COVID-19, Lo said.
Paxlovid, an oral antiviral agent, and remdesivir injections are first-line medications to treat people with the virus who have at least one of the 14 risk factors for severe COVID-19, he said.
However, if a patient’s health is not suitable for receiving the two drugs, Evusheld can be prescribed, he added.
Evusheld is less effective against some new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants, including Omicron BQ.1, BF.7, XBB and BA.4.6, but is still effective against the Omicron BA.1, BA.2, BA.5, BA.5 and BA.2.75 subvariants, Lo said, adding that the former are not yet known to be circulating in Taiwan.
The CECC yesterday reported 17,230 new local COVID-19 cases, 49 imported cases and 21 deaths from the disease.
The local caseload is 5 percent lower from Tuesday last week and most of the cases were concentrated in the six special municipalities, CECC data showed.
Of the 21 deaths, 20 people had underlying medical conditions, 14 had not received a booster dose and 14 were 80 or older.
Among the 13,421 deaths this year, 91 percent had underlying medical conditions, 91 percent were 60 or older and 66 percent had not received a booster shot, the CECC said.
As of Monday, the nation’s first and second-dose vaccination rates were 94 percent and 88.6 percent respectively, and the first and second booster vaccination rates were 74.2 percent and 17.4 percent respectively.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
RSS