Taiwan is in the midst of its worst outbreak of COVID-19 yet, but the government has some good news. More vaccine doses are on their way, and once they arrive, mass vaccination can finally begin.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung has said words that people have been waiting weeks to hear: mass vaccination for COVID-19 could begin soon.
Though Taiwan is battling its most serious outbreak of COVID-19 to date, two million doses of COVID-19 vaccine are set to arrive at the end of the month. These doses are the arsenal Taiwan needs to start pushing back against the outbreak.
Hundreds of clinics and a range of halls and sporting venues are going to be turned into mass vaccination sites. The plan is to give 140,000 jabs on average per day, a pace that would see close to a million people receiving one dose per week.
Given that Taiwan’s population sits at around 23 million, and given that the vaccines it has require two doses to be effective, this initial shipment of two million doses will only be enough to make an initial dent. But it will at least be the start of a return to normal life.