Taiwan Immigrants' Global News Network-Tsai Ing-wen urging elderly residents to get vaccinated to reduce mortality rate

AZ Vaccine deaths: CECC offers NT$ 300,000 compensations to families for body autopsy and research

There have been reports all over Taiwan on deaths among the elderly after the AZ vaccination. A total of 67 deaths were accumulated as of June 20. It was realized that most of the deceased had chronic diseases and it has not been confirmed whether the vaccine is the main cause of death. To identify the cause, the CECC requested consent from the family members for autopsies and body examinations. NT$ 300,000 will be issued as condolences and compensation for funeral expenses.Read more: Playful dolphins seen in Albay Gulf in the PhilippinesFor those who died after vaccination, families agree to autopsies and will receive compensation of NT$ 300,000. (Photo / Provided by the CECC)Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), CECC Commander, stated that the AZ vaccine has been supplied all across Taiwan since June 15. Those over the age of 75, residents in long-term care institutions, and patients with kidney dialysis will receive the vaccination. However, there seems to be a high mortality rate among these people after vaccination. To identify the cause of death, autopsies must be performed and families will receive NTD$ 300,000 as compensation and condolences if they accept the case request.Read more: Classic Taiwanese movies streaming on YouTubeVaccinations causing Thrombosis aroused public concern. (Photo / Retrieved from Common Health 康健雜誌)The public is worried that blood clots caused by the vaccination may result in myocardial infarction. The CECC clarified that this is different from thrombosis. Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) usually occurs 4 days or more after vaccination. The 5 previous Thrombosis cases are still well and alive. Some 70 to 80-year-olds passed away on the day of or after their vaccination.

Philippines approves the use of Sinopharm vaccine

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According to THE STRAITS TIMES, the Philippines has approved the use of Sinopharm Group's coronavirus vaccine, adding to the more than 15 million doses expected to arrive in the coming weeks as the nation aims to accelerate inoculation and revive the economy.The government also expanded to ages 12 to 15 the approval earlier given to Pfizer and BioNTech SE's Covid-19 vaccine, the Health Department said on Tuesday (June 8).The younger population may be inoculated once supply stabilizes, with the vulnerable still priority, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a separate statement.Sinopharm was approved for emergency use so the government can receive the state-owned company's vaccine donations, Food and Drug Administration head Eric Domingo said on Monday evening at a weekly briefing.The Philippines has inoculated about six million, of which 1.5 million have received their second dose. Image courtesy of EPA.THE STRAITS TIMES mentions, the Philippines has inoculated about six million, of which 1.5 million have received their second dose, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said.The nation has received 9.3 million doses of vaccines and is expecting 11 million to arrive this month including 4.5 million from Sinovac Biotech, 2.28 million from Pfizer and twomillion from AstraZeneca through Covax facility and 250,000 from Moderna, Mr Galvez said.More than fivemillion doses could come in July and as much as 17 million in August, he said.More articles: I have infected COVID-19. What should I be aware of?The Philippines has started vaccinating about 35 million workers and is monitoring how other countries will inoculate their young population as guidance for about 29 million Filipinos in that age group, according to Mr Galvez.THE STRAITS TIMES says, the economy, which suffered a record contraction in 2020 after implementing one of the world's longest lockdowns, is counting on vaccines to aid its rebound. It had to revert to the strictest movement curbs for two weeks starting late March as infections rose.More articles: Social Distancing App helps with the coronavirus preventionPresident Rodrigo Duterte, at the Monday briefing, urged Filipinos to make sure they are taking the second dose of the vaccines after a data showed that about half of those who had their first shot did not come back for the second one.Mr Galvez, however said that based on government records, only 113,000 people have so far missed their second jab.

Vaccination plans for Migrant workers in Asia

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According to The China Post, the COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the poor working conditions of the world’s migrant workers as many countries have experienced outbreaks happening within migrant workers’ communities.Even though some home helpers live with local families, the majority of migrant workers in Asia live in overcrowded and unsanitary accommodations. More importantly, they are often left out of vaccination campaigns.The China Post mentions, against this backdrop, a top United Nations official called in March on Asian nations to vaccinate their migrant worker populations, as Asia is home to 40 percent of the world’s migrant workers, according to The Diplomat.TaiwanHome to over 700,000 migrant workers, Taiwan has listed foreign caretakers working in long-term care facilities number 6th among the vaccination groups on the country’s priority list. The vaccination of the group kickstarted in April.Domestic workers working in individual households are not among the caretakers to be vaccinated.However, as Taiwan faces a shortage in vaccines even for frontline medical workers, the vaccination for migrant workers is poised to stall for the next few months.United Nations official called in March on Asian nations to vaccinate their migrant worker populations. File photo.MalaysiaSingapore’s neighboring country, Malaysia, which is also the home to around 3 million to around 5.5 million documented and undocumented migrant workers, has also announced similar vaccination plans in April.Malaysia’s Health Minister said the country will start vaccinating refugees as well as（插圖二）The China Post says, the migrant workers who do not have documents or those whose documents have lapsed will also be included in the vaccination plan which will likely start in June when vaccine supply has increased.South KoreaSouth Korea also included foreign nationals who have stayed in the country for over 3 months, including documented and undocumented migrant workers in its vaccination campaign.According to The Korea Times, foreign nationals are subjected to the same order and procedures applied to Korean nationals.However, limited information on vaccination schedules and the country’s inconsistent policies relating to Covid-19 for migrants have also raised concerns that migrants will still be left out of the vaccination plan.The officials of South Korea have guaranteed that undocumented migrant workers will not be deported for getting vaccinated or tested for the virus, The Straits Times reported.More articles: Social Distancing App helps with the coronavirus preventionSingaporeSingapore is probably one of the countries that suffered the most severe outbreaks within the migrant workers’ communities, as 150,000 out of 300,000 migrant workers were infected by the end of 2020, taking up over 90 percent of the country’s total infection number.Singapore has been vaccinating its migrant workers since March, targeting those living in the country’s five largest dormitories who were not infected by the coronavirus.Since then, 42,000 of the migrant workers, which roughly takes up 13 to 15 percent of the total migrant worker population have been vaccinated, the Straits Times reported. Officials promised to expand the vaccination campaign progressively to other migrant workers.More articles: I have infected COVID-19. What should I be aware of?migrant workers regardless if they are documented or not.The employers will be responsible for registering their migrant workers who are documented, the Malay Mail reported.Singapore has been vaccinating its migrant workers since March, targeting those living in the country’s five largest dormitories who were not infected by the coronavirus. Image courtesy of 4-way-news.JapanJapan on the other hand has put forward plans to makevaccines available to all foreign residents free of charge, as long as they are registered within a municipality.Japanese media TimeOutreported that Japan is scheduled to release vaccines to the general public in July including foreigners.To make the application process easier, related vaccination documents have been translated into 17 languages.Hong KongOn the other hand, Hong Kong had announced its compulsory COVID-19 screenings plans and mandatory inoculations for the 370,000 domestic helpers in the city on April 30.According to the original plan, migrant workers already in Hong Kong will have no choice but to receive vaccine shots while those looking to work in Hong Kong will have to prove they had been vaccinated prior to applying for work visas.However, the government has suspended the mandatory vaccination plan due to backlash from NGOs as well as both the Indonesian and the Philippines governments.The plan was called out for being “discriminatory” as it singled out migrant workers and labeled them as “high risk” groups, while white-collar workers were not subjected to the same scrutiny.The Hong Kong government still insists on conducting compulsory screenings and calls on migrant workers to receive vaccination jabs voluntarily as the city has enough vaccines for all citizens including migrant workers.