A fifth shipment of COVID-19 vaccines donated by Japan arrived in Taiwan yesterday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said, as it reported no new local infections or deaths, but five imported cases.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the batch of 500,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at noon.
“Japan has gifted a total of 3,904,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to us,” he said, adding that the center is grateful to the Japanese government and public for helping increase vaccination coverage in Taiwan.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
The batch comprises doses with expiration dates of Nov. 26 and Nov. 30, he added.
On Friday, 259,781 vaccine doses were administered, bringing the nation’s first-dose coverage rate to 51.49 percent, Chen said.
As of Friday, 12,075,243 people had received a first dose of a vaccine, and 2,067,218 had received two doses, CECC data showed.
Photo: CNA
Asked whether the CECC would allow further combinations for mix-and-match vaccinations — with first and second doses of different brands — Chen said that the center promotes the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as the first dose and the AstraZeneca or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine as the second dose.
Expanding the mix-and-match approach would only be considered if the vaccine supply makes it necessary, he said.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said Taiwan’s 10th round of vaccinations would focus on first-dose vaccinations with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
People in the ninth priority group who are younger than 40 and members of the general public aged 64 or younger would likely be eligible, but the exact age limits would be announced once the number of available doses has been confirmed, Chuang said.
The AstraZeneca vaccine doses that arrived yesterday would be administered mainly as second doses to people who had their first dose at least 10 weeks earlier, Chuang said, adding that the details would be announced today.
Chen said that the five imported cases are from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and the US.
Asked whether the center might relax COVID-19 restrictions, Chen said that the CECC is discussing its policy and planning to make an announcement next week.
Although sporadic cases have been reported over the past few weeks in northern Taiwan, the center would keep the whole nation at the same COVID-19 alert level, unless a special situation occurs, he said.
Chen said that the mask wearing mandate remains an important part of the nation’s disease prevention strategy and would not be eased.
However, mask rules for certain occasions, such as for gatherings of members of the same family, might be gradually eased, he said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique