The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that the latest round of bookings for COVID-19 booster shots would open tomorrow, with eligible people aged 65 and older allowed to book first, starting at 10am.
The center on Saturday reopened its https://1922.gov.tw online COVID-19 vaccination booking system for people to book booster shots, with the 19th round of bookings ending at noon yesterday.
Of the approximately 1.13 million vaccination appointment slots available on the system on Saturday, 874,095, or 77 percent, were booked as of noon yesterday, CECC data showed.
Photo: CNA
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), the CECC’s spokesperson, said that those eligible to book in the 20th round are adults born on or before Jan. 30, 2004, who received their second COVID-19 vaccine dose on or before Nov. 7 last year.
Eligible recipients would be allowed to start booking their appointments in three phases on Tuesday. People aged 65 and older can start at 10am, people aged 50 to 64 can start at 12pm and people aged between 18 and 49 can start at 2pm.
Bookings close at 12pm on Saturday.
Appointments would be available from Monday to Sunday next week, Chuang said.
However, people who received their second vaccine dose on Nov. 7 can only get their booster shot on Sunday next week, and those who received it on Nov. 6 can only get their booster shot on Saturday next week, and so on, Chuang said.
Appointment slots for healthcare facilities in Taipei would be added to the system in the 20th round, he added.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said people can book an appointment for their COVID-19 booster shot through the national online booking system or their local government system, or local governments can arrange appointments for eligible recipients on special name lists, such as elderly people or people with a special high-risk occupation.
The majority of people who received their booster shot last week chose the Moderna vaccine.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna vaccines are both messenger RNA vaccines that have similar protection against COVID-19, so people who fail to secure an appointment for the Moderna vaccine could consider choosing the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is said to have milder adverse effects than the Moderna vaccine, Chuang said.
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