Taipei will release 15,000 more doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT) COVID-19 vaccine for the public on Wednesday after heavy demand for it in the latest round of bookings, according to the city’s health department.
A total of 10,611 doses of the Pfizer-BNT vaccine were booked in just under three hours after Taipei’s 12th round of vaccination bookings opened on Tuesday, prompting the city to release 15,000 more BNT doses, which can be booked Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The extra doses will be available from May 23-29 at Taipei Main Station, Songshan metro station, and 16 hospitals in the city.
They include National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei City Hospital Zhongxiao Branch, Taipei City Hospital Zhongxing Branch, and Taipei City Hospital Yangming Branch, the city’s Department of Health said in a statement.
Taipei’s 12th round of vaccination bookings, held Tuesday and Wednesday, allows individuals to make appointments to get inoculated between May 23-29.
? Centers for Disease Control’s map of hospitals and clinics offering COVID-19 vaccines (in Chinese)
According to the city’s vaccination booking system, the BNT vaccine will be available to individuals aged 12 and above as a first or second vaccine shot.
It will also be offered as a first booster shot to people aged 18 and above and as a second booster shot to individuals over the age of 64, according to the booking system.
In addition to BNT, other brands of COVID-19 vaccines that are currently also available are Moderna and Medigen, the health department said.
Taipei citizens aged 65 and above who book their jabs through the current round of bookings will receive a gift voucher worth NT$1,000 (US$33.70), while non-Taipei residents in the same age group will receive a voucher worth NT$500, according to the health department.
To date, 86.24 percent of Taiwan’s population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, 81.06 percent has gotten at least two doses, while 63.32 percent has received a third shot, Central Epidemic Command Center data shows.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel