New vaccination round to offer second Pfizer-BioNTech jab
ROC Central News Agency
10/29/2021 06:42 PM
Taipei, Oct. 29 (CNA) People who have gotten a Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT) COVID-19 vaccine shot will be able to get a second jab in the next round of vaccinations starting Nov. 5, six weeks after the brand was first administered in Taiwan.
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
People aged 18 and above who got their first shot of the BNT vaccine on or before Oct. 8 will be able to make an appointment for a second shot between Nov. 3 at 10 a.m. and Nov. 4 at noon on the government's vaccination platform, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Friday.
The second shots will be administered from Nov. 5 to 12, the CECC said in a statement.
Individuals aged 12 and above who have yet to get their first COVID-19 vaccine jab and registered their interest to get the BNT vaccine on the vaccination platform by Oct. 26 will be able to book a slot for the their first BNT jab in the same time frame, the CECC said.
Since most teens aged between 12 and 17 in Taiwan were given their first Pfizer-BioNTech shot through schools, their second shots will be administered the same way and they will not have to go through the vaccination platform, according to the CECC.
A total of 88.8 percent of those in the 12-17 age bracket have received a COVID-19 vaccine shot since the rollout among high school students began, according to CECC data released Thursday.
Friday's announcement came after Taiwan received 910,300 doses of the BNT COVID-19 vaccine Friday morning, the 10th batch since the country took its first BNT vaccine delivery on Sept. 2.
To date, Taiwan has received more than 7.73 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, or around 51.6 percent of the 15 million ordered by Hon Hai Precision Co.'s YongLin Charity, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Buddhist group Tzu Chi Foundation, and donated to the government.
According to CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), around 581,000 and 858,000 people are eligible for the first and second Pfizer-BioNTech shot, respectively.
AstraZeneca shots
Meanwhile, people aged 50 and above, who were registered to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine as of noon on Oct. 26, will be able a make an appointment to get their first shot between Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. and Nov. 4 at noon, the CECC said.
People aged 18 and above, who received their first AstraZeneca jab on or before Aug. 27, can book a time for their second shot during the same 22-hour period, according to the CECC.
The CECC plans to offer 159,000 first shots and 828,000 second shots Nov. 5-12, Chuang said.
Deputy Interior Minister Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who hosted Friday's CECC press briefing, said individuals who are eligible for vaccine jabs in the new vaccination round will be notified by a text message to their mobile phone starting Nov. 2.
When asked about the mix-and-match vaccine approach previously considered by the CECC, Chen said it will still only be applied to eligible medical and government frontline workers, and those in high risk sectors, such as airline crew or quarantine hotel employees.
In August, Taiwan began allowing these groups of people, who were the first to be given an AstraZeneca shot after the country launched the COVID-19 vaccination on March 22, to receive the Moderna vaccine as their second shot, because of vaccine supply issues at the time.
According to CECC data released Friday, 71.09 percent of Taiwan's 23.43 million population have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 31.55 percent have been fully vaccinated.
(By Chang Ming-hsuan, Chiang Hui-chun and Kay Liu)
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