The nation’s COVID-19 vaccination program has proceeded a little slower than expected, so the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) is considering expanding the program to include more priority groups, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said at a meeting of the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee at the legislature in Taipei yesterday.
At present, vaccines are being offered to frontline healthcare workers at hospitals dealing with COVID-19 cases, but as of Sunday only 9,377 jabs had been administered.
As the first batch of about 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine has an expiration date of June 15, legislators expressed concern that they would not be used in time.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The number of vaccines administered in the first week was lower than the center had expected, Chen said, adding that the reason was likely because of media reports of adverse side effects overseas that have dented people’s confidence in the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“We allow people to freely choose if they want to get vaccinated and we arranged a priority list for the rollout so that people in higher-priority groups could get the vaccine first, but if their willingness to get vaccinated is low we could gradually offer the vaccine to lower-priority groups,” Chen said.
The center would discuss the issue and likely make an announcement tomorrow, he said.
Chen was asked whether the center had made any progress in its discussions with BioNTech in the past month after the minister last month said in an interview that Taiwan was close to securing a deal to purchase 5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine last year, but the deal fell through at the last minute, possibly due to “intervention from outside forces.”
After the interview was published, Reuters reported that BioNTech said that the company was still planning to provide vaccines to Taiwan and that discussions were ongoing.
The center had asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to clarify the situation, Chen said, and the company had said that it might have to postpone providing the vaccine to Taiwan by several weeks or months due to supply-chain issues. Taiwan would likely have received other vaccines or domestically produced vaccines by that time, so the possibility of signing a contract with BioNTech has receded, he said.
Separately, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is also CECC spokesman, said the next priority group for vaccination would likely be “non-healthcare workers” at hospitals dealing with COVID-19 cases, as well as “healthcare workers at other facilities,” but that a decision would be made at a CECC specialists’ meeting.
Those who were vaccinated last week would need to receive a second dose in late May at the earliest, Chuang said, adding that the center is negotiating with AstraZeneca and COVAX to secure another shipment and that he was confident it would arrive in time.
Meanwhile, the center yesterday reported one new imported COVID-19 case, a Taiwanese who had returned from the Philippines.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘LOCAL TRANSMISSION’: The nation reported 11 new cases, including seven local infections in the north, the highest daily number of cases since the pandemic began The COVD-19 situation has entered the “local transmission” stage and enhanced disease prevention measures have been implemented until June 8, the Central Epidemic Command Center announced yesterday as it reported six locally transmitted cases with unclear infection sources. The center reported 11 new cases yesterday: four imported cases from India, and seven local infections in northern Taiwan, the highest daily number of cases since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that one of the local infections — case No. 1,201 — is a woman who is a family member living with
‘DOWN TO ZERO 2.0’: All pilots are to undergo quarantine at government centers, while cabin crew on long-haul flights have to quarantine for 14 days The Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday announced stricter measures to contain a COVID-19 outbreak among China Airlines (華航) flight crew, as the nature of the confirmed cases indicated an unknown chain of transmission within the airline. The “Down to Zero 2.0” plan will be tough on China Airlines personnel, but is necessary to minimize the risk to society, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center. Under the measures, all China Airlines pilots and copilots are to be recalled to undergo quarantine at government centers, while cabin crew who are returning from long-haul flights or who have
TAKING NOTICE: In the first time that G7 foreign ministers have mentioned Taiwan in a joint communique, they called for ‘peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait’ The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the G7 foreign ministers for their strong support of Taiwan after the group in its joint statement on Wednesday called for the nation’s participation in the WHO, and the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. The ministers in a communique issued at the end of their three-day meeting declared support for “Taiwan’s meaningful participation” in WHO forums and the World Health Assembly (WHA). “The international community should be able to benefit from the experience of all partners, including Taiwan’s successful contribution to the tackling of the COVID-19 pandemic,” it said. The statement included a section
SHOPPING MALL: People who have been to places visited by the confirmed cases at about the same time should pay attention to their health condition and report symptoms The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday revealed several locations in Taoyuan and Taipei visited by two people confirmed to have COVID-19 when they were likely contagious. Case No. 1,183 — a China Airlines (華航) pilot, the husband of case No. 1,184 — on May 1 visited the “Pilot in Cafe” coffee shop from 12pm to 12:30pm, the Gloria Outlets (華泰名品城) shopping mall from 1pm to 1:30pm and Hutung Peng’s Old Shop Xinjiang Ramen (胡同彭家老舖新疆拉麵) from 2pm to 2:30pm, all in Taoyuan, the CECC said. People who visited the venues at about those times should pay attention to their health condition, and
RSS