More than 42,000 people on Friday received a COVID-19 vaccine shot, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, adding that 500 local clinics would become vaccination centers by next month, while 1,000 would offer jabs by August.
The CECC on Thursday distributed 150,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to local governments, which provided them to frontline essential workers in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as frontline healthcare professionals in other areas.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that people were much more enthusiastic to be vaccinated on Friday than before, as 42,920 people received a shot in one day.
Photo: Wan Yu-chen, Taipei Times
The most doses of the vaccine were administered in Kaohsiung, with 7,768 doses given, followed by Taipei with 5,164 doses, New Taipei City with 5,502 doses, Tainan with 4,762 doses and Taoyuan with 4,276 doses, the center’s data showed.
The CECC would distribute more doses on Tuesday, Chen said.
As the supply of vaccines gradually increases, the center is preparing to administer the doses more efficiently, he said, adding that about 500 local clinics would be added to the list of designated vaccination locations by next month and there would be about 1,000 such clinics by August.
The center has received several offers from corporations or religious groups interested in procuring vaccines for Taiwan, Chen said, adding that the CECC was grateful.
“However, at the same time, we want to remind them that even if an authorized agent submitted an official proposal [to obtain vaccines], the procurement contract must ultimately be signed by the central government with the original vaccine manufacturer,” he said, adding that if an agent seeking to acquire vaccines provides authorization documents from the vaccine maker, negotiations could begin.
“The central government would also be responsible for the overall planning and distribution of the vaccines,” Chen said. “After all, the vaccine would be injected into human bodies, so the government must supervise and control its safety and efficacy.”
The Buddha’s Light International Association, associated with Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Kaohsiung, on Thursday submitted documents to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, expressing its intent to acquire and donate up to 500,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
Hon Hai Precision Industry founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) intends to work with his Yonglin Foundation to purchase up to 10 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group (上海復星醫藥集團) to donate for domestic use, foundation chief executive director Amanda Liu (劉宥彤) said on Thursday.
Fosun has partnered with BioNTech to market and distribute the vaccine in China, Macau and Hong Kong.
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