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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 New batch of Moderna vaccines arrives
A man and a boy look at camels at the Taipei Zoo yesterday, after the Taipei City Government said 6,000 daily pre-booked visitors would be allowed into the zoo amid an improving COVID-19 situation in Taiwan. Photo: CNA
GOVERNMENT-PURCHASED: It would take about 10 days for lot release testing and for the doses to thaw before they can be used, the minister of health said
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
A batch of 249,600 doses of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine has arrived in Taiwan, the Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） said yesterday, as it reported two locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and seven imported cases, but no deaths.
The sixth shipment of Moderna vaccines procured by the government arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at about 4pm, bringing the total number of Moderna doses delivered since May 28 to 1.5 million, CECC data showed.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung （陳時中）, who heads the center, said some of the doses would be offered to healthcare providers in the first priority group as their second dose, including those who received a first dose of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Some doses would also be reserved for people who received a first dose of the Moderna vaccine and others for people who are to receive their first dose, he added.
Chen said the center needs to make precise calculations to determine the distribution proportions.
It would take about 10 days for lot release testing and for the doses to thaw before they can be distributed to local governments, the minister added.
The CECC on Saturday said that from 10am today to noon on Wednesday, people aged 36 years or older who have indicated a willingness to receive the locally developed Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp （高端疫苗） COVID-19 vaccine can book vaccination appointments using the government’s online appointment system.
Chen said the two new local cases — both women in their 40s who did not show symptoms — were reported in New Taipei City and Taipei, and that the infection sources are being investigated.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang （莊人祥）, who is the CECC’s spokesperson, said the case in New Taipei City is a Taiwanese who tested positive when she applied to accompany a hospitalized patient, and her test result had a cycle threshold （CT） value of 37, indicating a low viral load.
The case in Taipei is a Vietnamese who was illegally staying in Taiwan, and she tested positive when she surrendered herself to an immigration detention center in Taipei, he said, adding that her test result also showed a high CT value of 36, indicating a low viral load.
Chen said 90 percent of the people infected with COVID-19 between May 11 and Friday have been released from isolation.
The seven imported cases — three men and four women, aged between 20 and 50 — are from Lithuania, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and the US, CECC data showed.
Asked if the level 2 COVID-19 alert could be lowered after Monday next week, Chen said although the daily case counts have been in the single digits, the center still needs more time to observe the effects of eased restrictions.
The center might consider further easing certain restrictions if feasible disease prevention plans and guidelines are proposed, he said.
“Remaining vigilant should be people’s normal attitude, as the pandemic is still going on around the world,” Chen said.
Additional reporting by CNA
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
A batch Moderna COVID-19 vaccine doses is unloaded from a cargo plane at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. Photo: CNA
