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Pregnant women can choose Covid vaccine
Courtesy of ICRT
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) is now allowing all pregnant women in Taiwan to choose the Covid-19 vaccine they want.
The CECC says all 180,000 pregnant women can choose between the Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines after consulting their doctors.
Health Minister Chen Shi-chung said just yesterday that while pregnant women and people aged 75 and beyond are now eligible for vaccination, only the women who belong to the top three priority groups can choose Moderna.
But after the Kaohsiung city government announced that it would allow all pregnant women choose the vaccine they want, the CECC changed its policy.
The top three priority groups are mainly medical personnel, anti-virus government officials, and customs workers and pilots and crew members.
Meanwhile, doctors at NTU Hospital are reassuring the elderly that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safer for them than other brands of coronavirus vaccine.
They quote data from EU countries as saying that the death rate after getting AZ vaccine shots among people aged 60 and above is lower than for other vaccines.
The potentially fatal side effect of blood clots actually happened mostly in people younger than 60 years old.
The doctors say that’s the reason why several European countries recommend the AZ vaccine for the elderly.
They also point out that while it’s better to get two shots of the AZ vaccine 4 to 16 weeks apart, just one dose will provide 50-60% protection.
