Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) yesterday announced the promotion of Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) to deputy minister of health and welfare, while Chou’s deputy, Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), is to become the new CDC head.
Chou is to take over the post vacated by Shih Chung-liang (石崇良), who last week was tapped to head the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA), Hsueh said.
Chou, who had headed the CDC since September 2016, had for the past more than three years put in a lot of efforts as the leader of the CDC, as well as head of the Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) disease surveillance division, to deal with COVID-19 response and control, the minister said.
Photo: CNA
Hsueh added that he earlier yesterday received the order for the promotions, which were approved by the Executive Yuan.
“Both of them have specialized expertise, not only in COVID-19 response, but also in the prevention and control of many communicable diseases, and have performed well given their long-term experience in the field,” Hsueh said, adding that he expects a seamless transition into their new jobs.
As the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is in sight, the CECC will gradually be wrapping up its operations, so there will be no changes in official titles and duties, Hsueh said.
That means Chou will continue to head the CECC’s disease surveillance division, while Chuang will remain as the head of the communicable disease prevention division and Shih the head of the medical response division.
However, there will be an adjustment to the CECC spokesperson position, with CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, likely taking over the position from Chuang, Hsueh said.
Asked about the shortage of some medicines, such as antacid magnesium oxide and amoxicillin antibiotic products, Hsueh said the ministry had held a meeting with pharmaceutical companies and asked them to boost production, as well as adjust product distribution to better meet the needs of hospitals, clinics and pharmacies.
The ministry is looking at medium-term solutions, such as expanding the Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage reporting platform to facilitate detection of shortages, he said.
A longer-term solution is revising the National Health Insurance system’s drug procurement policies to avoid a supply and demand imbalance, Hsueh said.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS