A second batch of 910,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived yesterday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said.
The shipment — part of a donation of 15 million BioNTech doses purchased by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co’s Yonglin Foundation and the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation — landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 6:18am, the center said.
A first batch of about 930,000 doses arrived on Thursday last week. Together with yesterday’s doses, which expire on Jan. 17 next year, the nation has received about 1.84 million BioNTech doses.
Photo: CNA
Peopled aged 12 to 17 would be prioritized for the BioNTech vaccinations, while people aged 18 to 22 who have not yet been vaccinated, but have registered their willingness to do so, would have priority for the remaining doses, the center said.
Shots would be made available to other groups depending on the COVID-19 situation, the status of vaccinations and vaccine arrivals, it added.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, thanked the private groups for their donation during a news conference in Taipei.
On Wednesday, 106,595 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered, consisting of 95,773 AstraZeneca, 2,682 Moderna and 8,140 Medigen doses, the center said.
The CECC said that 11,660,683 doses have been administered, 10,652,241 first doses and 1,008,442 second doses.
About 45.39 percent of the population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, Chen said.
Chen added that the CECC has been trying to hasten deliveries of Moderna vaccines.
In other news, a group of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators on Wednesday urged the Ministry of Health and Welfare to issue subsidies and cash rewards to clinics, a move that would honor earlier government promises, while helping to keep clinics afloat during the pandemic.
They said in a joint statement that the efforts of frontline healthcare workers during an outbreak that started in May contributed greatly to stabilizing the nation, but also caused the clinics to lose business.
The CECC on July 22 announced that it would increase clinic administrative fees to NT$100 for each person vaccinated and would offer cash rewards to clinics based on the number of people they have served, the legislators said.
However, bureaucratic procedures and administrative processes led to a delay in the funding being delivered to clinics, making it difficult for them to operate, the statement said.
Some clinics have shut down temporarily due to financial troubles, the legislators said, calling on the ministry to issue cash subsidies to the clinics soon.
The statement was issued by legislators Chen Ming-wen (陳明文), Liu Chao-hao (劉櫂豪), Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬), Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄), Chiang Yung-chang (江永昌), Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘), Wang Mei-hui (王美惠), Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴), Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) and Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲).
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS