People in the ninth and 10th priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination, who have registered to receive the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on the national online vaccination booking system before 5pm today, could be eligible to be inoculated as early as Friday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
The center on Thursday announced that the vaccination booking system was officially available for eligible vaccine recipients nationwide to register and choose the brand of COVID-19 vaccine they would prefer to receive.
The next round of vaccinations has been expanded to include the ninth priority group — people aged 18 to 64 who have a high-risk disease, a rare disease or catastrophic illness — and the 10th priority group — people aged 50 to 64.
Photo courtesy of New Taipei City Government
Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳), who designed the booking system, yesterday said that as there is sufficient supply of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the first deadline would be 5pm today.
Eligible vaccine recipients who have registered before then and chosen to accept the AstraZeneca vaccine might receive a text message from the Centers for Disease Control’s 1922 hotline, informing them to book an appointment between tomorrow and Thursday, Tang said.
The next round of vaccinations, using the AstraZeneca vaccine, would begin on Friday at the earliest, she said.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to be the only type of vaccine offered in the next three weeks, so people who did not choose it might have to wait at least four weeks to be vaccinated, or they can log into the system and edit their vaccine brand preference, she said.
Asked whether some Moderna vaccine doses would be reserved for those who require a second dose, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the main goal is to increase the nation’s first-dose vaccination coverage as fast as possible.
However, a second dose would be reserved for people with special needs, including healthcare practitioners, airline crew members and pregnant women, he said.
The strategy for others who require a second dose of the Moderna vaccine would be discussed with the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Chen added.
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