CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan to receive 450,000 Moderna vaccine doses in July

Taipei, June 19 (CNA) Taiwan will take delivery of 450,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in early July and use them to supply up to 900,000 shots for children aged between 6 months and 5 years, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The CECC described the plans in an epidemic response meeting Sunday morning with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), details of which were provided to the press by Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成).

At the meeting, CECC officials explained preparations for the rollout of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of 5, following the emergency use authorization (EUA) that was granted by regulators on Friday.

Taiwan's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is expected to issue vaccination recommendations for this age group by the end of June, the CECC said, according to Lo.

In terms of vaccine supply, the CECC said it was expecting to take delivery of 450,000 Moderna doses in early July, which will be allocated to provide 900,000 vaccine jabs for children under age 5.

The CECC previously said it expects to begin its vaccine rollout for this age group in the third week of July.

Su, meanwhile, asked the CECC to fully explain the risks and benefits of vaccinating young children against COVID-19, so that parents can make a fully-informed decision on what is right for their child.

The CECC has not yet said what kind of uptake it is expecting for the new age group. Among children aged 5-11, who became eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine last month, 73.5 percent have already received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to CECC statistics valid as of June 13.

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