The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday expanded the eligibility for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to all healthcare workers and non-healthcare workers in the highest vaccine priority group.
The center said that 75,000 doses of the vaccine — half of the first batch Taiwan has received — were on Wednesday distributed to hospitals across the nation with specialized COVID-19 rooms, negative pressure wards and testing services.
Thus far, they had only been offered to frontline healthcare workers and non-healthcare workers at the designated hospitals, it said.
Photo: CNA
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the eligibility was expanded to speed up the vaccination process.
All people in the first priority group, including “registered healthcare workers and non-healthcare workers at hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities,” as well as “non-healthcare workers at centralized quarantine facilities” were eligible, he said.
A total of 6,171 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and 9,507 doses of the Moderna vaccine had as of Friday been administered across the nation, CECC data showed.
Photo: Liu Hsiao-hsin, Taipei Times
The AstraZeneca vaccine and the Moderna vaccine use different types of technology, so it does not recommend that a person be given one jab of one brand and another of the other brand, unless a serious allergic or adverse reaction occurs after the fist inoculation, the center said.
On Friday, the CECC said that 500,000 doses of a batch of 1.24 million AstraZeneca vaccines donated by Japan had been distributed to local governments, and could be administered to eligible people in the top six priority groups.
The vaccinations should begin on Tuesday next week, Chen said yesterday, adding that people in the top three priority groups who have not received a first dose would be eligible.
Photo: Wang Shan-yen, Taipei Times
Long-term care center workers and residents, and dialysis patients would also be eligible, he said, adding that the doses would be administered to the respective groups at the centers and dialysis facilities.
Members of the general public aged 75 or older (born before or on Dec. 31, 1946), Aborigines aged 64 or older (born before or on Dec. 31, 1956) and everyone who has received a first dose 10 to 12 weeks earlier would also be eligible, Chen said.
Local governments should follow a set of principles when offering the AstraZeneca vaccines, Chen said.
Only eligible people should be given the vaccines; local governments should implement social distancing measures at vaccine sites; they should publicize vaccine locations on their Web sites and inform the CECC about the sites; and they should set up vaccine information hotlines, Chen said.
Prosecutors and forensic scientists might be added to the vaccine priority list, as those groups frequently come into contact with the bodies of those who died from COVID-19, Chen said.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
POLLS CONCERNS: There are concerns within the KMT that a Cheng Li-wun-Xi Jinping meeting could trigger a voter backlash in elections in November Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit next month, her party and Chinese state media reported yesterday. Cheng, who took up her role in November last year, “gladly accepted” the invitation to lead a delegation to China, the KMT said in a statement, confirming a Xinhua news agency report. Cheng “looks forward to joint efforts by both parties to advance the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, promote cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, and work for peace in the Taiwan Strait and greater well-being for people on both sides,” the statement said. Chinese
SIGNIFICANT TO THE WORLD: The delegation’s visit aims to send a clear message that bipartisan support for Taiwan is consistent, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said The US Senate’s bipartisan support for Taiwan remains strong and Taiwan-US ties would continue for decades to come, a US Senate delegation said in Taipei yesterday, while calling on the legislature to swiftly pass a special defense budget bill. A US delegation led by Democratic US Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican US Senator John Curtis — both members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations — arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a two-day visit. The other senators of the delegation included Senate Taiwan Caucus cochair Thom Tillis and Senate Committee on Armed Services senior member Jacky Rosen. Shaheen told a news
RSS