CORONAVIRUS/Revision of border rules depends on vaccination rate among kids: CECC

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Taiwan will consider lifting more of its border restrictions when at least 50 percent of young children in the country have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Tuesday.

The statement was a follow-up to CECC head Victor Wang's (王必勝) comments the previous day, when he said that further lifting of border rules would depend on the vaccination rate among young children.

Wang declined, however, to say whether the CECC had a target rate in mind, as vaccination of children under 5 years old had only recently started.

When reporters raised the question again Tuesday, CECC spokesperson Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said the center would consider easing the border regulations further when at least 50 percent of young children have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Currently, the rate of a first shot in the age group 6 months to 5 years is only 6.6 percent, Chuang said during the CECC briefing, at which Wang was not present.

Taiwan began offering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged 5-11 on May 25, and rollout of the Moderna vaccine for those 6 months to 5 years old began on July 21.

To date, 91.7 percent of Taiwan's population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 85.7 percent has gotten at least two doses, 71.2 percent has received a booster shot, and 6.2 percent has received a second booster, CECC data shows.

Taiwan closed its borders to all non-resident foreign nationals in May 2021, with a few exceptions, amid a spike in domestic COVID-19 cases, but in the past few months, it has been easing its entry restrictions for some categories of travelers, including businesspeople and students admitted to Taiwan schools.

The most recent revision, which took effect Monday, allows six categories of foreign nationals, including interns and volunteers, to enter the country.

Update

Aug. 10: Taiwan to lift pre-flight PCR test requirement for all arriving travelers

Aug. 4: CECC to ease two policies before lifting quarantine for arrivals

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