The US has not yet determined its criteria for releasing COVID-19 vaccines to other countries, but it would take into consideration infection numbers, healthcare system capacity and vaccination rates, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen said yesterday.
Christensen made the remarks after giving a virtual farewell speech, as he is to leave his post in July after three years of service.
US President Joe Biden has said that his administration would release millions of AstraZeneca vaccine doses to other countries, but local media have expressed concerns over the US’ standards for selecting recipient nations and whether Taiwan would be among them.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times, from an AIT livestream
Christensen lauded Taiwan’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic and said that the nation’s health authorities would certainly contain the latest outbreak.
“Many of Taiwan’s neighbors in the region are also experiencing outbreaks, while Taiwan’s infection numbers are still among the lowest in the world,” he said.
While the standards for releasing the vaccines are not yet finalized, “the level of infection in the recipient economy, the capacity of the healthcare system and the level of vaccinations” are among the criteria, Christensen said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City Government
Taiwan’s locally developed vaccines would also become available in the next few months, he said.
“I can assure everyone that we are engaging with Taiwan at all levels on this issue,” Christensen said.
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced that 150,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses would be distributed to local governments today and frontline healthcare workers who are directly exposed to infected people would have priority.
Areas with high numbers of confirmed cases would receive more vaccines, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.
The CECC on Wednesday last week announced that 410,040 AstraZeneca doses had arrived via the COVAX global sharing platform, and that they would be administered following tests, which take at least a week.
Demand for COVID-19 vaccines has spiked in Taiwan, as more than 4,000 locally transmitted cases were reported over the past 10 days — a far cry from the situation over the previous few months, when the CECC repeatedly urged people to get jabs.
Chen on Tuesday announced that 2 million vaccine doses would arrive by the end of next month and 10 million doses, including locally produced ones, would be available by August.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that the capital had only two vials of vaccine, or 20 doses, and asked the CECC to consider obtaining more from other countries, as the local COVID-19 situation cannot be continued until August.
Asked about a news report that the center has modified its vaccination guidelines to allow different brands to be used in subsequent doses, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said that such a change is mainly for people who have an allergic reaction after a first shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The general principle is still for people to receive two shots of the same brand, Chen said.
Separately, Nantou County Commissioner Lin Ming-chen (林明溱) on Tuesday said he would use the county’s secondary reserve fund to purchase 300,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine from China’s Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group (上海復星醫藥集團) to administer to county residents, if the CECC approves the deal.
Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who is deputy head of the center, said that the CECC in a meeting yesterday once again explained the vaccine procurement procedure to local governments.
An authorized distributor must apply for a drug permit and submit documents to the Food and Drug Administration for review before a vaccine can be imported, Chen Tsung-yen said.
Vaccines are an important tool in preventing the spread of COVID-19, so distribution and administration would be coordinated by the CECC, he said.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old