The nation’s full vaccination coverage rate is expected to reach 60 percent today, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday as it announced the 17th round of vaccinations, in which first and second doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are to be offered.
As of Friday, the nation’s first-dose vaccination rate was 78.12 percent and the full vaccination rate 59.73 percent, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman.
The CECC had previously set a goal of achieving a full vaccination rate of 60 percent by the end of the year.
Photo: Hou Cheng-hsu, Taipei Times
However, thanks to cooperation between healthcare workers and the public, the goal is likely to be reached today, Chuang said.
The Executive Yuan has held three meetings this week to discuss how to further increase the nation’s full vaccination coverage rate to prevent another local outbreak, sources said.
To reach a full vaccination rate of at least 80 percent, it has ordered the establishment of vaccination stations at supermarkets and department stores for easy access, they said.
The CECC yesterday said first and second doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines would be offered in the 17th round of vaccinations.
Eligible recipients can register through the national COVID-19 vaccination booking system (https://1922.gov.tw) or make an appointment with designated healthcare facilities, it said.
Those eligible for a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine are unvaccinated people who were born on or before Dec. 9, 2003.
Eligible recipients for a second AstraZeneca dose or a mix-and-match regimen with a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are people who have received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on or before Oct. 14.
Unvaccinated people who were born on or before Dec. 9, 2009, are eligible for a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine; and people who are 18 or older and received a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on or before Nov. 11 are eligible for a second dose.
People can book an appointment for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine starting at 10am tomorrow. Bookings for the AstraZeneca vaccine start at 2pm tomorrow, while the deadlines for both are at noon on Tuesday. Vaccines would be administered from Thursday to Wednesday next week, the CECC said.
People who meet the vaccination requirements can also directly book an appointment for a first or second dose of any of the four available vaccines — AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Medigen — with a designated healthcare facility, it added.
Eligible recipients can also directly book an appointment with the healthcare facilities for the mix-and-match regimen — a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine following a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine — or a booster shot of the Moderna vaccine, it said.
The CECC yesterday reported 11 imported cases of COVID-19, nine of whom are vaccine breakthrough infections.
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
‘WORLD’S LOSS’: Taiwan’s exclusion robs the world of the benefits it could get from one of the foremost practitioners of disease prevention and public health, Minister Chiu said Taiwan should be allowed to join the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an irreplaceable contributor to global health and disease prevention efforts, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. He made the comment at a news conference in Taipei, hours before a Taiwanese delegation was to depart for Geneva, Switzerland, seeking to meet with foreign representatives for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the WHA, the WHO’s annual decisionmaking meeting, which would be held from Monday next week to May 27. As of yesterday, Taiwan had yet to receive an invitation. Taiwan has much to offer to the international community’s
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
RSS