Taiwan's high vaccination rates for the COVID-19 vaccine have resulted in about 60 percent efficacy, surpassing the global rate of 50 percent. That’s according to National Taiwan University Public Health researcher Chen Hsiu-Hsi (陳秀熙) on Wednesday.
Chen points out that the two indicators for ending the global health crisis include a reduction in hospitalization and mortality rates, as well as the formation of natural immunity through infections and vaccination. In the past 28 days, global hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients dropped by 23 percent and new ICU cases have decreased 11 percent worldwide. Chen says herd immunity plays an important role in controlling the spread of the virus.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global mortality rate has decreased significantly as of April 30.
Taiwan's vaccination rate for the first dose is approximately 80 percent, and for the first booster dose, it is around 70 percent, resulting in an overall estimated immunity of about 60 percent, which is higher than the global average of 50 percent.
Chen noted that following the opening of Taiwan's borders, there has been a slight increase in the number of moderate to severe COVID-19 cases. However, the mortality rate continues to decrease. Despite Taiwan's hospitalization rate being similar to that of the most developed countries, Chen believes that public health authorities should continue to monitor the situation closely.