CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan to receive rest of COVID drug order by June: health minister

Taipei, April 22 (CNA) Taiwan is expected to take delivery of another 520,000 courses of the COVID-19 antiviral drug Paxlovid by the end of June, completing its first order, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said Friday.
Amid a rapid surge in domestic COVID-19 cases, Taiwan recently signed a deal to acquire 700,000 courses of Paxlovid from Pfizer, and 180,000 courses have already been delivered, Chen said at the Central Epidemic Command Center's (CECC) daily press briefing.
Paxlovid is an oral therapeutic treatment for COVID-19, which makes it easy to administer, and it meets Taiwan's current needs, he said. The 180,000 courses that Taiwan has received so far will be distributed to hospitals and pharmacies throughout the country, Chen said.
According to the CECC, Paxlovid is being given mainly to COVID-19 patients over the age of 64 and those under 65 who have chronic health issues.
Related:
April 15: 4,100 courses of COVID-19 drug Paxlovid arrive in Taiwan
April 13: Final shipment of COVID-19 drug molnupiravir arrives

The health minister, who heads the CECC, said the government is also seeking to buy more Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT) COVID-19 vaccines.
If the negotiations on that deal go smoothly, Taiwan would receive about 1.5 million Pfizer-BNT doses in May, which would also include special doses for children 5 to 11 years old, Chen said.
Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing applications for emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BNT vaccine for children and is awaiting some additional information from the vaccine makers, he said.
If Taiwan can vaccinate at least half of its 1.2 million children in the 6-11 age group, it will be a significant achievement, compared to the European Union and the United States, where only about 28 percent of children are vaccinated against COVID-19, Chen said.
According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of April 13, some 9.7 million American children ages 5-11 had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, representing 34 percent, while 28 percent had gotten two doses.
To date, 84.37 percent Taiwan's 23 million population has received at least one COVID-19 shot, while 79.63 percent has gotten two doses, and 56.86 percent has received a booster shot, CECC data showed.
Related:
April 20: Taiwan approves Moderna vaccine for children aged 6-11
April 15: Taiwan mandates 3 COVID shots for high-risk groups, venues

Meanwhile, Chen said that more rapid test kits will become available in Taiwan between the end of April and early May, as the daily number of domestic COVID-19 cases has climbed to the thousands, depleting the country's rapid test reserves.
Some 21 million rapid test kits produced by Roche Diagnostics are scheduled to arrive in Taiwan on May 2, while another 7.8 million produced by Abbott Laboratories are expected on April 30, he said.
Related:
April 21: Rapid testing to replace preventive quarantine: health minister
Update
May 7: Quarantine cut to 7 days for mild, asymptomatic COVID-19 cases: CECC
May 7: Taiwan rolls back quarantine rules for contacts of COVID-19 patients
May 5: Rapid test positives to be counted as confirmed COVID cases from May 12
May 5: COVID-19 antiviral drugs now available to patients in home quarantine
May 4: Taiwan adjusts hospital policy for COVID-19 patients
May 3: Taiwan to shorten quarantine for arriving travelers from 10 to 7 days
April 26: COVID vaccine rollout for 6-11-year-olds to start May 2: MOE
Recent cases
April 22: Taiwan reports 3,859 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,766 domestic
April 21: Taiwan reports 3,058 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,969 domestic
April 20: Taiwan reports 2,481 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,386 domestic
April 19: Taiwan reports 1,727 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths
April 18: Taiwan reports 1,390 new domestic COVID-19 cases, 90 imported
- Taiwan to receive first shipment of Novavax vaccine soon: CECCThe first shipment of about 500,000 doses of the Novavax vaccine could arrive in Taiwan by the end of this month, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Tuesday.06/28/2022 08:48 PM
- One-year-old boy becomes Taiwan's youngest MIS-C caseA one-year-old boy has been diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), becoming the youngest such case in Taiwan to date, according to the Central ...06/28/2022 03:38 PM
- Taiwan reports 44,428 new COVID-19 cases, 103 deathsTaiwan on Tuesday reported 44,428 new cases of COVID-19, all but 49 of which were domestically transmitted, and 103 deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic ...06/28/2022 02:35 PM
- Sports
- Business
Power price hike widely expected to drive up CPI: Experts
06/28/2022 10:17 PM - Politics
Taiwan thanks G-7 leaders for continued support
06/28/2022 09:09 PM - Culture
Taiwan LGBT Pride to celebrate 20th anniversary throughout October
06/28/2022 08:57 PM - Society
Taiwan to receive first shipment of Novavax vaccine soon: CECC
06/28/2022 08:48 PM