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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 New vaccination booking system set to be unveiled
A man winces as he is vaccinated against COVID-19 by a medical worker in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
An online COVID-19 vaccination booking system is to be unveiled today and a trial is planned on three outlying islands, the Central Epidemic Command Center said yesterday.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung （陳時中）, who heads the center, said the online booking system, designed by Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang （唐鳳）, would be launched soon and details about how to make an appointment through the system would be announced today.
Tang has discussed the system’s implementation with local governments and the assistance of many administrative personnel would be needed, so it would be discussed again at a meeting with local governments at 8am today before training sessions are arranged, Chen said.
Tang has also discussed holding a trial of the system on the islands in Kinmen, Penghu and Lienchiang counties, he said, adding that the center would use the data gathered, such as how many people sign up, as a reference when planning nationwide vaccination strategies.
Meanwhile, Chen said that 1,536,920 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine have been distributed to local governments.
The first batch of 643,020 doses was delivered on Thursday last week, and the second batch of 893,900 doses was delivered yesterday, he said, adding that 20 percent of people aged 65 to 74 are expected to be covered.
The most doses would go to New Taipei City, with 165,200, followed by Taipei with 124,600, Kaohsiung with 102,060, Taichung with 91,420 and Taoyuan with 78,260, data showed.
Asked about a report that a batch of about 580,000 to 620,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to arrive in Taiwan tomorrow, Chen said: “We will announce it when they arrive, which will probably be soon.”
As of yesterday morning, 2,518,860 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in Taiwan and the vaccination coverage rate was about 10.52 percent of the population, data showed.
Centers for Disease Control （CDC） Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang （莊人祥）, who is the center’s spokesperson, said the incidence of side effects from a first dose of the AstraZeneca or Moderna vaccine is higher among younger people.
After receiving their first dose, about 60 percent of people aged 18 to 49 reported pain at the injection site, while only about 40 percent of those aged 50 to 64 and about 20 percent of those older than 65 reported the side effect.
About 30 to 40 percent of people aged 18 to 49 reported having a fever after receiving a first dose, while only about 10 to 20 percent of those older than 50 reported the side effect, he added.
Twenty-one deaths after COVID-19 vaccination had been reported between Saturday and yesterday, and two of them had received the Moderna vaccine, Chung said.
Further investigation would be needed to determine whether there was a causal relationship between the vaccine and death, Chen said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang attends a news conference in Taipei on June 11. Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan
