People should get at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine per year, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), said yesterday, as the center reported 14,795 new local cases.
Yesterday morning, Wang, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) and CECC officials visited Taichung to meet with Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) and visit the city’s vaccination stations.
As the mask mandate is to be eased tomorrow, and people have become less worried about COVID-19, spectators of the World Baseball Classic’s Pool A games — which are to be held in Taichung from March 8 — can choose whether to wear a mask, Lu said, adding that high-risk groups and people with symptoms or concerns should still wear a mask.
Photo courtesy of the Taichung City Government via CNA
Taichung’s vaccination rate is the highest in the nation, so its methods for promoting vaccination could serve as a model for other local governments, Wang said.
Asked about the lifting of the mask mandate for most indoor settings tomorrow, Wang said the overall vaccination coverage is not high enough — the second booster vaccination rate is only about 20 percent.
As the pandemic eases, people should continue to protect themselves against the virus, he said, adding that while no emerging variant of concern has been discovered recently, people should get at least one vaccination each year.
Separately, the CECC yesterday reported 14,795 new local cases, 299 imported cases and 55 deaths.
The local caseload is 17.8 percent lower than that on Saturday last week, marking the 15th consecutive day that the new local caseload is lower than the previous week.
Of the 55 deaths, 53 people had underlying health conditions, 37 people had not had a vaccine booster, including 28 people who were unvaccinated, while 33 people were aged 80 or older, the CECC said.
The youngest confirmed death was a man in his 30s, who had chronic lung and nervous system diseases and was bedridden. He died of acute respiratory failure and COVID-19 infection, it said.
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