PRONS AND CONS OF COVID-19 STRATEGIES OF TAIWAN AND THE

UK, USA.
秦愷
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Taiwan has received unanimous applause for its handling of the pandemic, with one of the
lowest per capita COVID-19 rates in the world and a situation largely tending to normal.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Taiwan was considered a high-risk country for COVID-19
due to its proximity to China and the frequent travel between the two countries.

With a SARS record in 2003 that was not particularly well managed, this time the Taiwanese
government acted quickly to close its borders. On January 20, 2020, it created a Central
Command for Epidemics to coordinate cooperation between the different ministries and
government agencies, and between the government and companies. More than 19 million
people, a third of the UK adult population, have received both doses of the vaccine.Another
17 million have received the first dose. Vaccines weaken, if not eliminate, the link between
infection and serious illness.And the cases in general are also much lower. The Office for
National Statistics estimates that fewer than 50,000 people currently have the virus. The
figure was 1.25 million at the beginning of the year.There are currently only around 1,000
people hospitalized for covid-19.The concern is that while the vaccines work very well, they
are not perfect and not all vulnerable people have been vaccinated.

So if there were another wave of cases resulting from the combination of relaxation of the
measures and a new variant, then a worrying number of people could still end up in the
hospital.

Keep in mind that these predictions are not a crystal ball.

Previous mathematical models had predicted a wave in the summer, but suddenly became
much more optimistic once it became clear that vaccinated people were less likely to spread
the virus.

At the begining of 2020, Taiwan had the iniciative to close borders with China, and without a
lockdown, managed to clear the island of this mortal disease. The pros is that the country was
applaud throughout the world, and the only consequence was being too secure that provoked
another COVID wave in 2021.

Covid in USA.
The issue of access to tests to detect the coronavirus in the United States is not separated
from a more complex one: its potential costs and access to the health system for those who
require medical attention.
More than 27.5 million Americans do not have access to health insurance, according to data
from the Census Bureau, which could lead to many who have symptoms or require treatment
not going to hospitals for fear of high costs.

In the United States, healthcare is crazy expensive so people couldn’t afford to treat
themselves when presenting covid-19 symptoms which are somewhat similar to flu
symptoms. Another con is that american people at the begining were too clueless and liberal
regarding the issue, not taking care of themselves and also the government not prioritizing the
matter, affected them all. Now the USA has developed amazing vaccines, giving them more
liberty than of what they had before. But even for many who do have insurance, the
"copayments" they must pay - an amount of money that insurers do not cover and can
sometimes be in the thousands of dollars - can also cause many to dismiss the possibility of
going to the doctor.
According to data from the NGO Commonwealth Fund, more than 44 million people are in the
latter group, which is defined as "underinsured.""Some states are covering the costs
associated with testing. However, if patients develop severe respiratory symptoms as a result
of COVID-19, those who are uninsured or underinsured will be the hardest hit by the financial
repercussions of treatment." , says Johnson.

According to Johnson, the potential increase in cases that will be registered in the coming
days will require not only government and state actions, but also at the individual level."We,
as a nation, should do what we can individually to protect the health of others. Those who can
work from home should choose to do so. Those who are sick should isolate themselves," he
says.

The expert's recommendations are in line with those of the CDC, which has suggested that
companies encourage their employees to stay home and work remotely or take sick days if
they develop symptoms.However, according to data from the Department of Labor, a quarter
of the working population in the US does not have access to paid sick days.

Covid in UK.
In the UK, the British government was forced to delay the lifting of coronavirus restrictions for
a month amid concerns about the rapid increase in cases of the more infectious delta variant
that was first detected in India.

COVID-19 infections are increasing in the UK, with 9,175 new infections reported on average
each day. This represents 15% of the peak - the highest average reported on January 5.

There have been 4,630,040 infections and 127,976 deaths related to the coronavirus in the
country since the pandemic beganMore than 19 million people, a third of the UK adult
population, have received both doses of the vaccine. Another 17 million have received the
first dose. Vaccines weaken, if not eliminate, the link between infection and serious illness.
And the cases in general are also much lower. The Office for National Statistics estimates
that fewer than 50,000 people currently have the virus. The figure was 1.25 million at the
beginning of the year.There are currently only around 1,000 people hospitalized for covid-19.

The concern is that while the vaccines work very well, they are not perfect and not all
vulnerable people have been vaccinated.So if there were another wave of cases resulting
from the combination of relaxation of the measures and a new variant, then a worrying
number of people could still end up in the hospital.Previous mathematical models had
predicted a wave in the summer, but suddenly became much more optimistic once it became
clear that vaccinated people were less likely to spread the virus.The UK has struggled in
mantaining lockdown, and not prioritizing COVID-19 as a huge social and personal impact,
affecting their control with it.

In comparison among those other countries, even with a second wave of coronavirus, Taiwan
and its people have perfectly been able to accomplish lockdown and taking care of
themselves and other people’s health.