The Consumers’ Foundation has called on the government to draft plans that would give paid leave and increased compensation to people getting the COVID-19 vaccine. That’s because Taiwan’s vaccination rate continues to lag behind the rest of the world.
The foundation said Friday that the government should also work to procure different kinds of vaccines because Taiwan has been slow to build up a supply when compared to other countries.
It said that countries like the UK and Israel have more than half of their populations inoculated. In comparison, Taiwan still has more than 100,000 unused doses of the vaccine. That means the rate of Taiwanese people getting vaccinated is far from the 60% to 70% vaccination rate needed to achieve herd immunity.
The foundation says that the public cannot rely on masks alone to fight the pandemic. It says that paid leave and increased compensation for those getting the COVID-19 vaccine is the only way to raise the vaccination rate.