BACKGROUND
Before the Omicron outbreak, several countries donated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan when China blocked Taiwan from an initial purchase of vaccines. In contrast, Hong Kong relied on a mixture of mRNA and inactivated viral vaccines, which are less protective against Omicron. This difference in vaccination policy, driven by political aims, offers an opportunity to study the impact of politics on public health.
OBJECTIVE
To understand how political policy around the vaccination campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan affected COVID-19 mortality rates.
METHODS
This study compared COVID-19 vaccination rates, cumulative death rates, and conditional death rates throughout the Omicron outbreaks in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The primary measure used to compare the impact of health policy in the two locations was the cumulative conditional death rate, or the ratio of total deaths to total SARS-CoV-2 transmissions per 100K population.
RESULTS
The conditional death rate in Hong Kong was 3.8 times the rate in Taiwan.
CONCLUSIONS
Political interference paradoxically saved lives in Taiwan, as Taiwan ultimately ramped up its vaccination campaign with more effective vaccines just ahead of the Omicron outbreak.
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