Taiwan will be lowering its COVID alert level from Level 3 to Level 2 on July 27. However, experts wonder if Taiwan’s COVID situation will continue moving in a positive direction if vaccination is the only preventative measure in place.
The government’s decision to lower the country’s COVID-19 alert level on July 27 has some experts concerned. Will Taiwan be able to keep the pandemic under control once restrictions are lifted?
Dr. Huang Li-min, an infectious disease specialist at National Taiwan University Hospital, says that Taiwan’s current vaccination rate of 25% is far below the 80% needed to achieve herd immunity. In Taiwan, over 25% have received one vaccine dose while less than 1% have been fully vaccinated. Huang says that 75 to 80% of the population must receive two vaccine doses before Taiwan can be sure that 65% of the population is protected against COVID.
Other experts say that even if Taiwan had a stable supply of vaccine doses, it would still take another two to three months to achieve herd immunity. They say that lowering the COVID alert level is not the same as lifting a lockdown, and that people should remain vigilant.
Dr. Huang also says that COVID testing should still be carried out. He says that the sooner COVID patients are identified, the sooner the R number, or reproduction number, can be reduced, meaning that the outbreak is slowing down.
Keeping the pandemic at bay will also require enforcement of border controls so that other variants do not enter the country, and it will also take everyone continuing to abide by pandemic prevention rules.