COVID-19

Japan ends distribution of AstraZeneca COVID vaccines with the last of the shots destroyed

Covidian helmets and holy vaccine
Health and Safety Regional 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

Japan has discarded some 13.5 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, as all of the remaining shots supplied by the British pharmaceutical company have expired, the health ministry announced on Sept. 30, according to Japan’s leading daily newspaper, The Mainichi , October 1, 2022. “Japan is officially ending the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine,” the report said, while explaining that the Japanese government had signed up to purchase 120 million doses of the product in December 2020. Only 200,000 doses

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Taiwan insurance companies suffer heavy losses on COVID and vaccine policy payouts

Taiwan NT$1,000 bills
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments , , ,

Some of Taiwan’s largest insurance companies have applied for capital reserve funding increases and short term loans to cover losses to the tune of more than NT$80 billion as Covid-19 and COVID vaccine insurance claims continue to pour in, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said yesterday, September 6. The FSC Insurance Bureau reported that from the beginning of the year to September 5, there had been more than 1.7 million claims settled on COVID-19 insurance and more than 386,000 claims

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8-year-old boy develops myocarditis after second COVID shot

screenshot from CTI news story
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

An eight-year old boy was diagnosed with myocarditis two days after receiving the second dose of a COVID vaccine, and his condition may have been triggered by the vaccine, Taiwan’s Public Service Television (PTS) news reported yesterday, June 24. The second-grader in Kaohsiung City was administered the second dose of the Moderna shot on June 17, and developed a fever and chest pain on June 19. Doctors at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital diagnosed the boy as suffering from myocarditis and

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Grieving migrant worker forcefully restrained after escaping from quarantine hotel

man wrapped in bedsheet stands off with police in carpark
Society 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments , , ,

A migrant worker was sprayed with pepper spray and restrained by police and paramedics after he jumped from the third floor of a quarantine hotel in Hualien County yesterday, after receiving news that his mother had died. According to reports, the 29-year-old Indonesian national had been staying in the quarantine hotel after testing positive for COVID-19, and was due to return to work today, May 10. However, on the morning of May 9, the man received news of his mothers

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China lockdown madness: elderly patient put into body bag alive, handed over for cremation

composite image from video of patient in body bag in hearse
Regional 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , , ,

Government officials have confirmed that the staff of a Shanghai nursing home put a patient into a body bag and handed it over to undertakers for cremation, but had to take “the body” back after the undertakers saw movement, and found the man was still alive, according to Chinese news reports. Video footage of the incident circulated widely on Chinese social media yesterday, May 1. In the videos, taken from two angles, two undertakers are seen pulling a body bag

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Taiwan TV station apologizes to South Korea for “covidizing” national flag

Republic of Korea flag with covid-19
International Relations 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Taiwan news channel TVBS issued an apology to the people of Korea today, April 19, after using an image that combined the national flag of the Republic of Korea with a CGI depiction of the COVID-19 virus during a TV news report last month. On March 16, TVBS “FOCUS Global News Program” used the image as a background during a news report about South Korea recording 600,000 COVID cases in a single day. A screenshot of the image eventually spread

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Teen slammed with NT$1.5 million dollar fine for playing basketball during quarantine

composite image basketball money
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

An 18-year-old man has been issued a fine of NT$1.5 million (US$51,500) after leaving his mobile tracking device at home and going out to play basketball after testing positive for COVID-19, according to reports today, Sunday, April 17. New Taipei City Department of Health said that the resident of Sanxia District tested positive for COVID-19 on April 14, along with other family members and his girlfriend. The entire family was ordered to stay in home quarantine. However, the man left

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Chinese city officials rescind order to cull COVID patients’ pets after public outrage

composite image showing alleged pet cull and order to kill pets
International 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , , ,

Municipal health authorities in a city in Hebei Province, China said that they have rescinded an order to cull the pets of people who test positive for COVID-19, after a copy of the order went viral on social media, sparking outrage among citizens. China’s Sina.com reported that the document titled “Urgent Notice on Rapidly Carrying Out the Work of Culling of Domestic Animals of Positive Patients” was issued by the “Epidemic Prevention and Control Leading Group Office” in Anci District,

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Quarantined residents treated like prison inmates: food delivered searched for drugs and contraband

food opened, crushed, and dug through in search for contraband
Society 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments , , , ,

A college student complained that food delivered by her family while she resided in a quarantine facility was opened, dug through, and crushed by quarantine personnel, making her feel that she was being treated like a criminal, but the Minister of Health and Welfare said that this was “necessary.” The college student revealed the information along with pictures on the student-oriented social media platform “D-card,” on February 17th. The pictures showed that packets of snacks such as potato chips were

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Quarantine death hotel building to be demolished

Qiaoyou Building Changhua City
Disaster 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

The building that housed a hotel used for COVID-19 quarantine until four people died in a fire after being told to stay put in their rooms will be demolished by the end of the year, the Changhua County Government announced yesterday, February 15. In June 2021, a fire broke out in the empty bottom floors of the building, leading to the death of three quarantined hotel “guests,” and a firefighter who went to their assistance after hotel managers told them

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The war on viruses: What’s that got to do with the price of eggs?

composite image showing laying hens and people queuing for eggs
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , , ,

As Taiwan goes into the Lunar New Year holidays, people are facing empty egg shelves in some supermarkets, long queues at stores with supplies, and rising prices that have been capped as an emergency measure by the Council of Agriculture. Just as egg prices rise while supply falls, hundreds of thousands of chickens are being culled due to “bird flu.” But this seems to be the elephant in the room. Taiwan’s peak government agricultural authority, the Council of Agriculture, doesn’t

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