The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that 331,200 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children have arrived and six large vaccination stations for children would start administering them in the six special municipalities from tomorrow.
The second shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11, procured by the government, arrived yesterday morning, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.
The batch expires on Sept. 30, he said.
Photo: CNA
Together with the first shipment of 777,600 doses that arrived on May 16, Taiwan now has 1,108,800 doses of the children’s vaccine, CECC data showed.
The new batch is being labeled and would be distributed to local governments starting today.
“In response to the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival long weekend and parents’ concerns, we will be opening up some large vaccination stations,” he said.
While local governments have their own vaccination plans, many parents have not been able to book an appointment, said Victor Wang (王必勝), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division.
The large vaccination stations would enable local governments to inoculate more children, he said, adding that the required extra doses would be provided by the central government.
The stations would be set up at Liberty Square in Taipei, operated by Taipei Veterans General Hospital (TVGH); New Taipei City’s Banciao Train Station, operated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Taipei Hospital; and the Taoyuan Arena, operated by TVGH’s Taoyuan Branch.
They would also be established at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Taichung, operated by Taichung Veterans General Hospital; the Tainan Public Library, operated by the ministry’s Tainan Hospital; and the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center, where negotiations are ongoing to find a health service provider.
The stations would provide walk-in service, so parents do not need to book a vaccine appointment, but parents or guardians must accompany children at the site and sign a consent form, Wang said.
As of Saturday, more than 455,000 children aged five to 11 had received a COVID-19 vaccine dose, accounting for about 30 percent of the age group’s population, the center said.
Chen said the nation’s first, second and booster dose vaccination rates had reached 88.18 percent, 81.76 percent and 65.3 percent respectively, as of Sunday.
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