People from low-income households and children aged 7-12 may become eligible soon for free COVID-19 rapid tests under a government program that offers the tests to designated categories of recipients, Taiwan’s Health Minister Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said Monday.
Under the government’s rapid test distribution scheme, Taiwan citizens and residents can purchase packs of five tests for NT$500 (US$15.59), while seniors 65 and over and children under the age of 7 are eligible to obtain five free tests per month.
During a legislative hearing Monday, Hsueh said his ministry is planning to expand the eligible categories, as the government currently has large stocks of COVID-19 rapid tests.
Expiry dates, possible lower demand
“[The government] now has an inventory of around 130 million rapid tests, many of which have an expiry date of late 2023 or early 2024, or about 13-14 months from now,” Hsueh told lawmakers in the Legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee.
“In light of the expiry dates, [we] need to use up at least 10 million tests per month to avoid a situation in which a large number expire” and go to waste, he said.
Hsueh also said that demand for rapid tests is likely to drop in the coming months, as COVID-19 infections in Taiwan decline.
As a result, he said, the health ministry plans to start offering five free tests per month to people from low-income households and children aged 7-12.
More details by end of month
Speaking to the press after the hearing, Hsueh said the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) will be responsible for calculating the exact number of eligible recipients in those two categories and deciding when to implement the plan, but it will not be delayed until next month.
Meanwhile, during an epidemic prevention meeting Monday morning, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said the CECC will evaluate whether to also distribute free rapid tests to disadvantaged groups and people at high risk of developing severe COVID-19 infections, according to Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成)
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel