Staff writer, with CNA
HEALTH
VICP pays out for hair loss
A woman who lost all her hair after she was vaccinated against COVID-19 would receive a payout of NT$30,000, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) said yesterday. While there was no conclusive evidence directly linking her hair loss to the Moderna vaccine she received, she would be given compensation based on her medical records and tests, it said. The woman, who is in her 40s and lives in New Taipei City, began losing her hair after she was vaccinated, it said, without providing dates. Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-huai (???) said that hair loss can be caused by several factors, including psychological problems, stress and autoimmune disorders. However, those conditions can be triggered by vaccines, she said. The decision to give the woman NT$30,000 was reached on July 27 during a VICP meeting at which 150 cases were discussed and compensation of NT$5,000 to NT$30,000 was awarded to 23 people.
CRIME
Sixteen arrested over death
Sixteen suspects have been arrested after a 19-year-old was beaten to death in New Taipei City, allegedly over a debt dispute, law enforcement officials said on Friday. Three of the 16 suspects are minors, and the youngest is only 13, the officials said. The victim, surnamed Chen (?), allegedly owed one of the suspects, also surnamed Chen, NT$70,000. At 2am on Thursday, Mackay Memorial Hospital’s branch in Tamsui District (??) reported that the victim had bruises and wounds all over his body and it considered his death more complicated than it seemed, they said. An investigation found that the victim had met his creditor at a car wash on Wednesday, the officials said. While there, he was beaten by his creditor and other suspects, before being taken to a rental apartment in Tamsui where he died, they said. The 16 suspects were arrested in Tamsui, Lujhou (??) and Wugu (??) districts on Thursday and Friday, the officials said, adding that after being questioned they were handed over to prosecutors on suspicion of committing homicide. The three minors were sent to the juvenile court, they added.
DIPLOMACY
Taipei helps rebuild Ukraine
A kindergarten in Ukraine that was damaged during Russian attacks reopened to students on Thursday with the help of funding from Taiwan. The school, named Ruta, in the northern city of Irpin, was rebuilt through the joint efforts of the Taiwanese and Lithuanian governments, under an initiative implemented via the latter’s Central Project Management Agency (CPMA). Taiwan’s contribution of 1.2 million euros (US$1.3 million) went mainly toward the purchase of furniture and equipment, and landscaping for the playground and surroundings, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Facebook on Friday. Reconstruction of the three-story school took eight months, and it can now accommodate 400 kindergarten students, the CPMA said. In June, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was donating US$5 million to the CPMA to assist with reconstruction efforts in Ukraine, which included the rebuilding of the kindergarten in Irpin. On Friday, Representative to Lithuania Eric Huang (???) said children are a nation’s future and should not be deprived of their right to education because of the aggression of a totalitarian state. Taiwan is honored to be working with Lithuania to assist in the reconstruction of Ukraine, he said.
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