'Group Trip for Vaccination?'... Taiwanese Semiconductor Company Sends Employees to Guam by Charter Plane

On the 15th (local time), an elderly person wearing a mask and face shield is receiving a COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site set up in a school in New Taipei, northern Taiwan.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] A Taiwanese semiconductor company has proposed sending employees in groups to the U.S. territory of Guam for COVID-19 vaccination.

According to local Taiwanese media on the 27th, ADATA, a Taiwanese memory manufacturer, informed all employees via email on the 25th that it would operate a special project for employees wishing to receive COVID-19 vaccinations in Guam.

The program involves using a charter flight to get vaccinated in Guam and return over five days starting from the 18th of next month. ADATA estimated the travel expenses at 130,000 TWD (approximately 5.26 million KRW) per person. Of this, 100,000 TWD (about 4.04 million KRW) will be covered by the company, and 30,000 TWD (about 1.21 million KRW) will be borne by the employees themselves.

The company stated that employees could choose from three vaccines: Pfizer, Moderna, or Janssen, and requested responses by the afternoon of the 28th. However, it also added that a 14-day self-quarantine would be required after returning to Taiwan.

According to the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare's Disease Control Department, as of 12:30 a.m. that day, there were 14,545 new daily confirmed cases and 623 deaths. Taiwan had been regarded as a 'model country for quarantine' by maintaining low case numbers, but since last month, confirmed cases have rapidly increased.