《TAIPEI TIMES》 Vaccinations hit record high on Tuesday: CECC

LIMITED SUPPLY: With many people opting for Moderna, the center said it is reserving most available doses for those who have received a first jab of the US vaccine

By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

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The Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） yesterday said that 242,353 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered on Tuesday, the highest daily record since vaccinations started in March.

CECC data showed that 7,514 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 234,839 doses of the Moderna vaccine were administered across the nation that day.

After going through a learning curve, local governments have become more experienced in planning and arranging large-scale vaccinations, allowing the daily number of doses to hit a record high, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung （陳時中）, who heads the center.

The nation’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has reached 17.02 percent, while doses per population have reached 17.39 percent, he said.

CECC data also showed that as of 5pm yesterday, 880,645 people, or 78.33 percent, of the 1,124,326 eligible recipients from groups nine and 10 on the priority list who are willing to be inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine had booked an appointment for vaccination through the national online COVID-19 vaccination booking system.

The remaining eligible recipients should book an appointment before the deadline at 5pm today, Chen said.

With the CECC on Tuesday expanding the vaccination registration system to include people aged 18 to 49, more than 3.9 million from this age group had signed up as of 1pm yesterday, he said.

Among them, 2.09 percent selected only the AstraZeneca vaccine, 44.3 percent chose only the Moderna vaccine and 53.6 percent are willing to accept either of the two brands, he said.

“I must remind everyone that a vast majority of the Moderna vaccine has already been administered in the previous days, so most of the available Moderna doses would be reserved as a second dose for those who received a first dose,” he said.

“As such, we can only provide a relatively small amount of Moderna vaccines in the future,” he said. “AstraZeneca will be the main type of vaccine provided.”

As of 5pm yesterday, CECC data showed that 6,644,714 people had registered for the next round of vaccinations, with only 1.93 percent opting for the AstraZeneca vaccine, 58.81 percent choosing the Moderna vaccine and 39.26 percent ticking both.

The CECC was also asked about a report that aside from the 970,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by Japan, another 550,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 350,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine purchased by the government are expected to arrive today.

The vaccines donated by Japan are certain to arrive today, and the center will make announcements about other deliveries when they are confirmed, Chen said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES