In light of the experience gained from the COVID-19 pandemic and in order to refine Taiwan’s epidemic prevention system and prepare for unknown emerging infectious diseases, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) has published the White Paper on Taiwan’s Epidemic Prevention Policy in Post-COVID-19 Era. This White Paper consolidates the substantive recommendations from 49 experts across government, industry, academia, and research institutions with expertise in public health, medical care, the vaccine industry, information technology, legal affairs, and local governance. Through 20 in-depth meetings, the experts objectively reviewed Taiwan’s COVID-19 prevention response, examined lessons learned, and identified key areas for discussion: "Border Quarantine," "Epidemic Surveillance and Forecasting," "Information Technology," "Healthcare Response," "Vaccines, Antiviral Drugs, and Rapid Test Kits," "Masks and Personal Protective Equipment Supplies," "Campus Epidemic Prevention," and "Risk Communication." After thoroughly reassessing various epidemic response efforts, these experts formulated specific recommendations for improvement tailored to Taiwan’s public health context to enhance the country’s overall public health system.

Taiwan CDC explains that the White Paper contains 56 policy recommendations. These include "Elevating Decision-Making Levels and Integrating Government Department," "Improving Legal Regulations," "Expanding Human Resources," "Increasing Financial Investment," "Strengthening Infrastructure," "Implementing Preparedness Measures," "Promoting Evidence-Based Decision-Making," "Introducing Innovative Technology," and "Expanding Public Participation." Among these, recommendations on the management and requisition of epidemic prevention resources, the division of responsibilities between central and local governments as well as policy compliance, the implementation and reinforcement of infection control measures, vaccine procurement and development, and the legalization of technology-based epidemic prevention measures have been incorporated into proposed amendments to the "Communicable Disease Control Act." Furthermore, based on the experts’ recommendations in the White Paper, appropriate adjustments have been made to the structure of the Communicable Disease Control Medical Network, patient admission and treatment processes, and related operations to take into account the different types and scales of diseases and epidemics. These changes were made to build a more efficient and effective epidemic prevention and response system.

Taiwan CDC also emphasizes that, although COVID-19 prevention efforts have returned to normal, emerging infectious diseases may still occur, and the threat of infectious diseases  remains. Continuous planning and implementation as well as adequate resource investment are essential to maintaining the public health system’s response capacity. By reviewing its epidemic prevention efforts and response measures as well as looking to the future, Taiwan aims to stay current with advances in infectious disease prevention, improve the resilience of the Taiwanese public in the face of epidemics, and share Taiwan’s epidemic prevention experience with the international community.
 

Download the electronic version of the white paper here: https://gov.tw/PYr