CECC extends Taipei Main Station vaccine clinic, expands vaccination-or-testing policy

CECC extends Taipei Main Station vaccine clinic, expands vaccination-or-testing policy

2021-12-08

Turning now to Taipei Main Station, where walk-in COVID vaccinations are underway. The pop-up vaccine clinic is now in its fourth day, and the crowds are showing no signs of letting up. To meet the demand, the CECC has decided to keep the clinic open an extra three days, until Dec. 12. In related news, the CECC is expanding its "vaccination-or-testing" policy, which previously applied only to personnel at 24 types of venues, including daycares and universities. It’s now asking four priority groups to get vaccinated by next Friday, or be subject to COVID testing every week.

Completed forms are checked over by staff. There’s a long line for COVID shots at Taipei Main Station, and even getting through ID screening requires a wait. It’s already the fourth day of vaccinations here, and the station is now administering vaccines at three locations. Even so, the lobby is still packed with people.

Member of public
I had some spare time, so I was able to come out here. I can’t book appointments that are in the evening or in the morning. I also can’t read the Chinese on the booking system.

Member of public
My blood pressure has been more stable these past two days, so I thought I should hurry up and get a shot. I came here before 1. The end of the queue was all the way over there.

At Taipei Main Station, Moderna is available to everyone without an appointment.

To meet strong demand, the CECC deployed more medical staff to the station. It’s also extended the vaccination period for three days to Dec. 12. Everyone in Taiwan is eligible for a shot, regardless of nationality. After the jab, they’ll receive a NT$100 supermarket voucher. In its first three days, more than 5,600 people were inoculated. So far, there’s been a surge of demand at Taipei Main Station and clinics at supermarkets and department stores. Together, they’ve administered all 34,000 Moderna doses that were going to expire on Dec. 7.

Chuang Jen-hsiang
CECC spokesman
There are fewer than 40,000 doses that will expire on Dec. 12. We will administer the Moderna vaccine until Dec. 21. We will provide promotional materials – that is, a gift, to encourage people to get vaccinated.

Also on Wednesday, the CECC expanded its vaccination-or-testing policy to more groups of people. The policy now also applies to the first three priority groups and Priority Group 7. These are health care workers, epidemic prevention personnel in the government, front-line workers, and essential workers. In addition, employees of correctional facilities and funeral parlors will also be required to get their second dose by Dec. 17, or undergo weekly COVID testing.

Chuang Jen-hsiang
CECC spokesman
These are actually people who were previously prioritized for vaccination. Our hope is to encourage them to get fully vaccinated as soon as possible.

In the first and second priority groups, 94% of people are fully vaccinated. In the third and seventh priority groups, only 88% are fully vaccinated. In related news, the CECC announced that second doses will be administered to students aged 12 to 17, starting Dec. 15.

北車接種站第4天仍擠爆 CDC宣布延長到12/12

2021-12-08

北車接種站開打第四天，雖然已加到三個施打點，依舊滿滿都是人，指揮中心今天宣布，原定12/09結束的接種站延打到12/12，估計這段時間可提供1.5萬到2萬劑接種。面對12/12又有近4萬劑莫德納到期，指揮中心也擴大強化疫苗施打族群，包括矯正機關、殯葬場所人員等等，都得在下週五前打完2劑疫苗。

不只填資料，還得仔細檢查證件，許多人來到台北車站打疫苗，光是核對身分就得花好一段時間。接種站開打第四天，雖然北車增加到三個施打點，大廳依舊滿滿都是人。

[[接種民眾]]
“休息時間然後可以出門這樣子，有時候如果晚上還是早上，我都沒有辦法，(平台預約)也是看不懂中文這樣子”

[[接種民眾]]
“這兩天血壓比較穩定，我想說趕快來(打疫苗)，還不到一點(不到一點就來排)，從那邊就開始排啊”

只要排隊免預約，莫德納隨到隨打。

指揮中心除了加派醫護團隊進駐，日期更延長到12/12，不分國籍的在台人士都能打，也會繼續採購、送百元禮券，統計前3天已經超過5600人接種。加上各地百貨、賣場催打奏效，原本12/07到期的3.4萬劑莫德納，已全數打完。

[[疫情指揮中心發言人莊人祥]]
“不到四萬劑的疫苗，就是在12/12會屆效(到期)，12/21之前，我們也會提供莫德納疫苗，都可以提供接種疫苗的宣導品，就一份禮品，鼓勵民眾踴躍接種”

除了祭出禮品當誘因，指揮中心也宣布，擴大強化疫苗施打族群，包含第一到三以及第七類人員，也就是醫事人員、防疫人員、高風險接觸工作者以及維持國家安全及社會機能正常運作者。另外，還有矯正機關、殯葬場所人員等等，都得在12/17前打完2劑疫苗，不然就要每週進行篩檢。

[[疫情指揮中心發言人莊人祥]]
“這些事實上都是我們，過去優先提供疫苗施打的對象，所以我們目前是希望說，鼓勵的方式，那希望他們盡快完成(接種)”

雖然一二類的完整接種比例，目前都高達9成4，但第三和第七類卻只有8成8，至於BNT第二劑的校園接種，各縣市最快也將在12/15起陸續開打。

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A seventeen-year-old from Pingtung has become the youngest-ever recipient of the National Ba-teh Eight Virtues Award. Huang Chuan-yu received the award for his voluntary work filling potholes in the road. He follows in the footsteps of his father, who has also won the prize. After decades of altruistic service, the two of them have made Pingtung’s roads safer for everyone.

A road leveling machine flattens tarmac. Seventeen-year-old Huang Chuan-yu is totally absorbed in his work. He’s out here stoically rain or shine, filling potholes.

Huang Chuan-yu
Pingtung Industrial Vocational High student
It does get hot. You just get used to it, then it’s not tough. You just have to keep going.

His father, Huang Cheng-tsai, has been resurfacing dodgy roads out of his own pocket for decades. Huang senior began the project before Chuan-yu’s mother was even on the scene. Chuan-yu has helped out since second grade, when his dad would get him up early on Sunday mornings to help with the materials. Now he can lift bags of cement and drive the road leveler. Working on the road is father-and-son bonding time.

Huang Cheng-tsai
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The way we hang out is to give our best on the road, for everyone who uses it. That’s our unique way of spending time together. He loves laying the asphalt. He’s never skipped a session. He comes with us every week.

Huang Chuan-yu
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I feel happy filling in the holes in the road.

Sunday is the day of rest, but for this pair, it’s a chance to protect other road-users’ safety, with countless holes filled in over the years. Last year, the father won a National Ba-teh Eight Virtues Award. This year it’s his son’s turn. He’s the first youth to receive the ethical gong.

Ko Chao-tu
Pingtung Industrial Vocational High head
Let’s all come together to do public service, let’s get all our students and everyone who cares about society involved. We’ll only have a happy and peaceful society with a virtuous cycle.

Chuan-yu plans to donate his prize-money to a fund for rural students from low-income families, to help them buy school uniforms. His heartfelt love of service is the greatest reward his dad could hope for.

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Shou SHan Zoo to reopen in April 2022 after COVID hiatus

Shou Shan Zoo in Kaohsiung is over 40 years old. It had to go on hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, relying on livestreaming to give fans a glimpse of the animals. But renovations are well underway while the zoo is closed. Zoo keepers are adamant the zoo will reopen in April next year. In the meantime, they’re enjoying the patter of very tiny feet.

A newborn baby sloth lies in its mother’s arms. The bundle of joy barely opens its eyes, as it chews languidly on a bit of sweet potato leaf.

Here in Kaohsiung, Shou Shan Zoo is undergoing renovations as part of the “New Zoo Campaign.” Since it closed its doors in May, it has welcomed its youngest denizen. This tiny little sloth was born in late October. At a month old, its sex was still undetermined. It’s the second child of its mom, whose name is Baby.

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Baby is a very maternal sloth. The little sloth spends all day lying on its mom’s tummy.

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Charles Lin
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There’s a sky walk that’s more than 830 meters long. It’s about 2.4 meters wide. You can go up on it even pushing a buggy. All the works are well ahead of schedule. It will definitely completely reopen in September next year. A partial reopening will begin in April.

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With its sleek, minimalist design in black and white, the EMU3000 is the pinnacle of elegance. The train pulls slowly into the platform, which is full of passengers eager to hop on.

Wearing flower crowns, they’re happy as clams as they pose for photos with the new train. The TRA’s new intercity EMU3000 offered its first trial service to the public on Wednesday. The train offers spacious and bright interiors, with charging ports on every seat. Braille signage is up all over the train, which also has dedicated accessible spaces.

Passenger
First of all, it’s very stable. The seats are spacious. It’s not bad at all. It’s squeaky clean.

Passenger
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Passengers heap high praise on the new train. One whips out a selfie stick to snap a shot. The EMU3000 is a 12-car train with 538 seats. That’s 40% more capacity than the Taroko Express and the Puyuma Express.

The EMU3000 takes about 15 minutes longer than the Puyuma Express to travel from Taipei to Taitung. But the tickets cost the same: NT$783 for standard and NT$1,145 for business class. The EMU3000 will formally enter service on Dec. 29.

Passenger
As soon as I stepped in, I could tell that the seats would be very comfortable. I can’t wait for the trains to bring joy to passengers on the East Coast.

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This is Ling Ling. She was given up to a foundation when she was 45 days old. Early on, her caretakers discovered that her development was slower than that of other children. They’ve sought out intensive medical treatment to support her special needs.

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She is slower than the average child. But because her nanny has worked with her extensively, she is able to keep up. In addition to her intensive training at home, she still has to go back routinely for physician follow-ups.

The Garden of Hope Foundation in Taipei is holding a fundraiser to support adoptable children like Ling Ling. Over the past three years, its adoption program has taken in a rising number of children with special needs. It’s also been caring for the children for longer periods of time. Due to COVID border controls and restrictions, it now takes at least one year on average before an adoptable child finds a family.

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In the past, the Garden of Hope Foundation took an average of 4 to 6 months to help children find a suitable adoptive family. In the past few years, we’ve seen a rising rate of special needs children. More care and support or medical resources are needed to help the children find a suitable adoptive family.

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Yang Huang Maysing
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U.S President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan says that Washington will take, quote, "every action that we can take" to prevent a Chinese attack on Taiwan.
During a Tuesday press briefing, Sullivan was asked if the U.S. was prepared to react, if China tried to take over Taiwan. He replied that the U.S. intended to take every action it could to ensure Taiwan’s security.

Jake Sullivan
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The United States is going to take every action that we can take, from the point of view of both deterrence and diplomacy, to make sure the Taiwan scenario you just described never happens.

In a warning to China, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stressed that every effort would be made to ensure Taiwan’s security.

Jake Sullivan
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Joining the U.S. in backing Taiwan was former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. In an exclusive interview with Japan’s Fuji Television, Abe brought up Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor 80 years ago. He said that at the time, Japan had, quote, “misjudged” the global geopolitical situation. He said he hoped that other countries won’t make the same mistake.

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Of course, Japan knows very well what happens after launching a war. Abe’s remarks are a reminder to cherish our hard-won peace.

Several days earlier, Abe said publicly that a “Taiwan emergency” would be a “Japan emergency.” When asked for clarification by Japan media, he said that the distinction between wartime and peacetime was increasingly blurred. Even if China does not launch a full-on cyberattack or military invasion against Taiwan, it could attack an offshore island and cause chaos, he said. If Japan allows this to unfold, he said, Japan itself could be attacked, and that would affect Japan’s national security. He said that Japan may provide support to the U.S. and other allies.

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For the U.S. and Japan, Taiwan’s security is firmly at the top of the agenda. The lawmaker said that the harder China pushes other nations, the harder the backlash will be.

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