Anyone willing to receive a second COVID-19 vaccine jab using a different vaccine brand after receiving a first dose of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine will be able to book an appointment online Friday, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
Appointments for the mix-and-match approach can be made on the government's 1922 vaccination website from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, with the vaccination shots to be administered from Nov. 20-21, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (???) said at a daily CECC news briefing on Thursday.
Chen made the statement after the epidemic center the previous day said people who have received one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and not been given a second dose after eight weeks or more will be able to register to receive a Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT) jab.
According to CECC spokesperson Chuang Jen-hsiang (???), about 228,000 people have so far registered, expressing their preference for the mix-and-match approach, the first time it has been made available since Taiwan's vaccine rollout began in late March.
Although the appointment window will be available for only six hours on Friday, Chen said those who miss out on the first mix-and-match vaccinations will have another opportunity using leftover doses at hospitals nationwide from Nov. 20.
Anyone who is eligible, meaning individuals who received their first jab of the AstraZeneca vaccine eight weeks ago or longer, can go to a designated hospital with leftover Moderna or Pfizer-BNT doses, he added.
The CECC also announced that another shipment of the Moderna vaccine, comprising 1.15 million doses from the American vaccine maker, arrived in Taiwan at 4:46 p.m. on Thursday.
It is the 10th delivery of the Moderna vaccine that Taiwan has received.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel