Taiwan Has World's Second Highest Death Rate 詹長權:台灣染疫確診死亡速度 全球第2快

Taiwan's COVID-19 death rate has doubled in 13 days, making it the second highest in the world. Experts say it is a warning, and urged the government to address the root cause of it.

Taiwan's COVID-19 death count continues to climb, hitting 211 on the 9th. This was yet another single-day record. National Taiwan University public health professor Chan Chang-chuan says Taiwan's death rate is the second highest in the world right now and has doubled in just 13 days. Unless the government is able to identify the root cause of this, fatalities will keep going up.

Huang Li-min, Superintendent, National Taiwan University Children's Hospital: “With such a short length of time between diagnosis and death, patients either aren't diagnosed until it's already too late or they aren't getting medication when they need it. This has to be addressed.”

Doctors say there are many reasons why Taiwan's mortality rate is climbing so quickly, from inadequate medical resources to patients not being able to get medicine quickly enough to preexisting conditions.

Chou Pai-chien, Pulmonologist, Taipei Medical University Hospital: “In central and southern Taiwan, patients aren't getting their prescription medication right away because there are more rural areas. Older people may not know how to use their phones for telemedicine appointments, and medication often isn't readily available. Under these circumstances, the mortality rate will be higher.”

Doctors also warn that Omicron has never stopped mutating and has become more infectious over time, with Omicron 5.0 spreading at a rate of 10 times across the U.K.. They say since borders have reopened across the world, getting updated, next-generation vaccines as soon as possible is critical.

國內染疫死亡人數不斷攀升，9日通報211例死亡個案再創單日新高，台大公衛學院教授詹長權指出，台灣死亡數在13天內翻倍，現在位居全球第2快，翻倍數是個警訊，如果不找出根本問題，死亡數還會繼續翻倍。

台大兒童醫院院長黃立民表示：「確診跟死亡的時間隔的滿短的，這代表呢他們可能太晚被診斷了，或者他們診斷以後，沒有辦法很快的拿到藥物，所以這個地方要去檢討。」

根據指揮中心統計，6月9日單日新增211例死亡創下新高，醫師認為死亡數快速成長原因很多，有可能是醫療資源不到位、確診後給藥速度慢、或是確診者共病多。

北醫附設醫院胸腔內科主治醫師周百謙表示：「今天醫師開藥之後可不可以立刻拿到，其實這個地方在中南部可能執行上會有它的困難，因為畢竟是地廣人稀 如果說老年族群，不會操作手機、不會視訊看診，這些藥物的德政其實並不能夠普及所有病患的話，死亡率就會相對增加。」

國內死亡人數攀升， 國外也有新威脅崛起，有醫師示警，Omicron 突變持續進行、傳播力也會增加，新一代的Omicron 5.0 正以10倍的速度在英國增長，但開放國門已成全球趨勢，還是應該盡速拿到次世代疫苗才是當務之急。