Enhanced public-private cooperation is key to combating COVID-19 with the emergence of the new omicron variant and persistence of the pandemic, according to Vice President Lai Ching-te Jan. 3.
Surgical masks have been essential in Taiwan’s coronavirus prevention efforts, with pharmacists all over the country having worked diligently on the front lines to help implement the government’s mask-rationing plan, the vice president said.
According to Lai, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has set up telehealth and telepharmacy services to provide health and pharmaceutical care to patients at a distance in response to the pandemic.
Lai made the remarks while attending the opening ceremony of a new office hosted by the Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations in Taipei City.
Taiwan has become an aged society with an increased number of people with chronic conditions, Lai said. The need for pharmacist services offered across different healthcare facilities is further highlighted, he added.
Lai also took the opportunity to applaud the contributions of Taiwan’s pharmacists towards safeguarding public health.
Other high-profile attendees at the event included Chen Shih-chung, minister of health and welfare; Hung Chin-shun, president of the FTPA; Lee Po-chang, director general of the National Health Insurance Administration under the Ministry of Health and Welfare; and Wu Shou-mei, director general of the Food and Drug Administration under the MOHW.
Latest Central Epidemic Command Center statistics reveal 17,155 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 850 deaths in Taiwan. (DL-E)
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