Taiwan sees spike in COVID-19 cases

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control reported a resurgence of COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, June 18. Last week, there were 623 new complications reported, marking a significant increase of 294 from the previous week. Individuals aged 65 and over accounted for 79% of these cases.

The number of fatalities last week rose to 38, up from 20 the week before, with those aged 65 and older constituting 90% of the total deaths.

The CDC noted that the total number of COVID-19 XBB vaccine recipients has reached 2.77 million, with 13,000 people vaccinated last week, an increase of 8.33% from the previous week. The national vaccination rate now stands at 11.40%, with the vaccination rates for the first and second doses among individuals aged 65 at 20.62% and 1.63%, respectively.

The CDC emphasized the effectiveness of the XBB vaccine in reducing the risk of severe illness or death. The country has approximately 2.869 million doses of the Moderna XBB vaccine and 41,000 doses of the Novavax XBB vaccine available.

In recent weeks, the JN.1 variant has been the dominant strain in both domestic and imported cases, accounting for 60% and 54%, respectively. The KP.2 variant has seen a slight increase, accounting for 13% and 27%, while the KP.3 variant has remained stable.

The CDC advises individuals experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose, or sore throat to use a home COVID-19 test kit and report the results to their doctor.