The requirement that certain high-risk groups of people in Taiwan receive a booster COVID-19 vaccine shot will be lifted on Nov. 14, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Monday.
The high-risk groups include medical professionals and workers in medical facilities, frontline disease prevention government workers, air crews, designated transportation workers, quarantine hotel employees, soldiers, and policemen, the CECC said in a statement.
Other high-risk groups include people working at elementary schools, kindergartens, high schools, community colleges, and child care and social care providers, and staffers at game arcades, conference and exhibition centers, beauty salons, saunas, banquet venues, vocational training centers and correctional facilities, the CECC said.
The CECC made the announcement on a day when the same vaccine mandate was lifted for staff and clients of fitness and recreation centers, karaoke clubs, massage parlors, pubs, and hostess clubs, as well as for people participating in group tours or religious activities.
The three-shot vaccine mandate was announced on April 15 and implemented a week later, when Taiwan saw the number of daily reported new domestic COVID-19 infections surge from over 100 on April 1 to more than 1,000 in 15 days.
At the time, that was the highest single day total for cases in Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020.
Since the rollout of the booster dose on Dec. 2, 2021, 74 percent of people in Taiwan have received one booster dose, while 16.1 percent were given a second booster shot available to individuals aged 12 and above, CECC data released on Monday showed.
Meanwhile, 1.36 percent of the people in Taiwan have received a third booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, which is available to individuals aged 50 and above, and immunocompromised individuals aged 18 and above, according to CECC data.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel