The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday denied a news report that it ignored a Presidential Office request to respond to a petition regarding a vaccine injury compensation case rejected by the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) claim evaluation committee.
The Chinese-language news site CTWant yesterday reported that a 42-year-old woman died of acute cerebral edema shortly after she received a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, adding that a hospital provided a diagnosis certificate saying the cause of death was associated with the vaccine.
After the VICP claim evaluation committee rejected the family’s case, they hired a lawyer to petition President William Lai (賴清德), whose office asked the Ministry of Health and Welfare to handle the case, the report said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
However, the ministry took nearly a month to reply, and it refused to provide data requested by the family — the committee meeting’s recording and the references they cited, the Web site said.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) yesterday told a news briefing in Taipei that the committee conducts independent reviews and is comprised of medical and law specialists and disinterested persons, with 24 members.
Each vaccine injury claim is carefully reviewed, including having medical professionals examine the medical records and examination results, before making a preliminary report, he said, adding that law experts and disinterested people then give further suggestions.
The report and suggestions are then discussed in a meeting before the committee makes a final decision, which is delivered in a report to the applicant and publicized on the CDC’s Web site, he added.
If an applicant is not satisfied with the final decision, they can appeal or file for administrative litigation if they do not accept the result of the appeal, he said.
Presenting a letter from the Presidential Office, Lo said the case was transferred to the Executive Yuan’s secretary-general on Aug. 28, and the secretary-general transferred the letter to the health ministry on Aug. 30.
The directive from the Presidential Office was that the petitioning lawyer had asked for the VICP committee meeting’s recording and references, so the ministry should handle the case and directly respond to the petition applicant, while notifying the office, he said.
The CDC on Sept. 19 replied to the applicant in a letter, and also notified the ministry, Lo said, adding that “directly respond” does not mean it must provide the recording and references to the applicant, but only that it should directly inform the applicant the result of the discussions.
Regarding the meeting recordings, as they include medical records and personal data, the ministry does not preserve or publicize them, and it does not intend to change that policy at this time, he said.
As for the news site’s report that the ministry hired three lawyers to counter the applicant, Lo said the VICP received many applications regarding COVID-19 vaccinations, so it commissioned a law firm that assigns one to three lawyers to handle the cases, so the number of lawyers for any given case is decided by the firm, not the ministry.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS