離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Moderna delivery arrives in Taiwan
A batch of 200,400 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is unloaded from a cargo plane at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. Photo: CNA
FOURTH BATCH: Nearly one-quarter of Taiwan’s contract for 20 million doses has been delivered, as 11 moderate to severe cases were reported yesterday
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
A shipment of 200,400 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine arrived yesterday at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） said yesterday as it reported 4,126 local cases.
Is is the fourth batch of Moderna vaccines to arrive this year, with an expiration date of July 29, the center said.
The CECC said that it signed a contact in July last year to purchase 35 million doses of the Moderna vaccine within two years, including 20 million doses that are expected to arrive this year.
Yesterday’s shipment brings the total doses delivered to 4,341,900.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung （陳時中）, who heads the center, said that another shipment containing more than 1 million doses is expected to arrive within a week.
A contract to purchase Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, including its shots for children, is close to being signed, with a few minor issues that need to be addressed, he added.
Chen said that 4,204 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed yesterday: 4,126 local cases and 78 imported.
The most cases were reported in New Taipei City, with 1,563, followed by Taipei with 945, Taoyuan with 527, Keelung with 219, Taichung with 171, Hualien County with 138, Kaohsiung with 98, Yilan County with 90, and cases ranging from one to 57 in 14 other cities and counties, the center’s data showed.
Chen said that 10 moderate illnesses and one severe illness were among yesterday’s confirmed local infections.
The severe case is a woman in her 60s who has chronic hypertension and received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, he said.
She experienced twitching, hyponatremia and suspected sepsis, he said, adding that she was admitted to an intensive care unit and is being administered oxygen and the medication remdesivir.
The 10 moderate cases had blood oxygen levels below 94 percent along with pneumonia, and are being treated with remdesivir; two are receiving a high-flow nasal cannula treatment; another two have no reported underlying health conditions; and six did not receive a COVID-19 vaccination, CECC data showed.
Responding to claims that hospitals are running out of rapid-test kits, Chen said the center has asked domestic manufacturers to continue supplying the kits according to their contacts, and that 700,000 kits were distributed to local governments on Friday.
Local governments can ask the center for more if they are short of supply, he added.
Asked whether people should wear a N95 respirator to protect themselves from the highly transmissible Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, Chen said N95 masks are only recommended for healthcare workers who have direct exposure to confirmed cases, and that medical cloth masks are sufficient for the public.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
