Members of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) committee at their latest meeting agreed to provide compensation of NT$3.5 million (US$114,829) to the family of a child who died of fulminant myocarditis after receiving her second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Ten of the 118 cases reviewed during the meeting were awarded compensation, including one case of adverse reaction after receiving a Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine and nine cases of adverse reactions after a COVID-19 vaccine.
One of the cases is a Taoyuan girl aged five to 11, who died of fulminant myocarditis after receiving her second shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), the Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) spokesperson, said the girl lost consciousness three days after receiving the shot, and a cardiac ultrasound scan showed preserved systolic function, suggesting fulminant myocarditis.
A forensic autopsy found lymphocytic infiltration within her myocardial fibers, of which viral infection is the most common cause, as the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is an mRNA vaccine that is non-pathogenic, he said.
However, Lo said that considering the sequence of events, the committee cannot rule out fulminant myocarditis being associated with the vaccine, as the risk of myocarditis after a second shot is higher than the first shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The committee agreed to offer the girl’s family NT$3.5 million in compensation and NT$300,000 for the funeral, which is the highest compensation amount for an adverse reaction after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
According to post-vaccination adverse reaction report data, the incidence rate of myocarditis and pericarditis after Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination in the five-to-11 age group is 4.5 per million for boys and 4.8 for girls, which is similar to the rates in other countries.
Separately, the CECC yesterday reported 12,792 new local COVID-19 cases, 298 imported cases and 46 deaths.
The local caseload fell 18.7 percent from Sunday last week.
Lo said 98,613 new cases were reported from Feb. 19 to Saturday, down 13.9 percent from a week earlier.
Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC, has said the center is revising the guidelines for reporting cases and discussing when to remove the mandatory isolation rule for confirmed cases.
Asked about the issue, Lo said changes could be announced next month at the earliest.
An easing would depend on the daily caseloads after the 228 Memorial Day long weekend and the end of most mask requirements on Monday next week, he said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to