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CECC aims to widen vaccination programme
Courtesy of ICRT
The Central Epidemic Command Center says it hopes to expand its coronavirus vaccination programme after 1.75-million more AstraZeneca vaccine doses arrive in two shipments this week.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung says Taiwan will receive 620,000 AstraZeneca vaccines later today as part of an order placed with the manufacturer while Japan is sending a second shipment of 1.13 million AstraZeneca doses to Taiwan tomorrow, following a donation of 1.24 million doses on 4 June.
According to the health minister, the two shipments will allow the epidemic command centre to "accelerate its timetable for opening vaccine eligibility to middle-aged and younger adults."
Taiwan has placed orders for around 30 million doses of various vaccines.
However, it has obtained only 5.27 million doses of AstraZeneca and Moderna, 3.74 million of which were donated by the US and Japan.
Currently, the two vaccine brands are being administered to people 65 years old and over and others deemed as high-risk groups, in categories 1-9 on the priority list.
In related news, new data shows that the government's vaccine registration system saw heavy usage on its first day.
The appointment platform, designed by Digital Minister Audrey Tang, was opened yesterday on a trial basis to residents of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu who fall under categories 9 and 10 on the government's vaccine priority list.
Now, the CECC says the system is open to people in categories 9 and 10 all across Taiwan, and 1.48 million people have registered to be inoculated so far.
Category 9 covers people aged 18 to 64 who are at risk due to rare or serious illnesses, or other conditions. Category 10 covers people aged between the ages of 50 and 64.
Vaccines are currently available only for those in categories 1 to 8, and government data indicates that over 2.5-million people have been vaccinated.
