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).
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