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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 CECC secures 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses
A nurse yesterday administers the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Clinical Hospital in Szczecin, northwestern Poland. Photo: EPA
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
The Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） yesterday said that Taiwan has secured nearly 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, and a purchase of 5 million more is being negotiated, but the earliest delivery would be in March.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung （陳時中）, who heads the CECC, said that the figure includes 4.76 million doses from the COVAX global distribution program, and 10 million doses from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca PLC.
Negotiations to purchase about 5 million doses from another drug company are ongoing, he said.
The cold-chain system for transporting and storing vaccines has been prepared for March, Chen said, adding that the center is also approaching vaccine companies that have entered phase 3 clinical trials.
For risk diversification and securing safe and effective vaccines as early as possible, the CECC has taken multiple approaches to securing COVID-19 vaccines, including “international investment” such as joining the COVAX platform, “direct purchases from vaccine manufacturers” and “investment in domestic vaccine makers,” he said.
Domestic vaccine maker Adimmune Corp （國光生技） cannot decide on the optimal dose for its candidate after its phase 1 clinical trials, so the center has suggested it reconduct dose-ranging, the minister said.
He said that Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp （高端疫苗） has gained conditional approval to enter phase 2 clinical trials, and United Biomedical Inc （聯亞生技） is expected to provide all of the data from its phase 1 clinical trials for review next month.
The center plans to secure vaccines for at least 65 percent of the population to achieve effective herd immunity, so as each person would need two jabs, the aim is to obtain approximately 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, Chen said.
The CECC announced nine priority groups for COVID-19 vaccines, once they become available.
The first priority group would be healthcare professionals, followed by central and local government disease prevention personnel, including airport personnel who might come into close contact with infected individuals, and police and military police.
After that, care facility workers, home care providers and social workers — including domestic migrant workers — would be prioritized, followed by military personnel and people aged 65 or older.
The last three priority groups are people aged 19 to 64 with high-risk diseases, followed by people with a rare disease or catastrophic illness, and adults aged 50 to 64.
When the vaccines become available in Taiwan, people in the priority groups can choose whether they want to get vaccinated, but they would not be able to choose the brand of vaccine, Chen said.
It would be difficult to predict how long it would take for the 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to be administered, but it could take up to a year, Chen said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
