Taipei has begun administering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to certain categories of senior citizens. The response has been enthusiastic, but not all doctors think the vaccination of older people is going fast enough.
It’s a day that some senior citizens in Taipei have been waiting for. On Friday, Taipei began vaccinating senior citizens aged 72 and over (and indigenous people aged 55 and over) with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Some senior citizens who were already eligible to get the AstraZeneca vaccine deliberately held off on getting vaccinated until today, saying they have greater confidence in the Moderna vaccine.
At a vaccination center in Taipei’s Shilin District, a long line quickly formed early Friday, with each person getting the shot having to wait ten to twelve minutes on average. Meanwhile, Taipei’s Shin Kong Wu Ho Su Memorial Hospital quickly saw reservations for the 1,200 shots it can deliver each day fill up.
But despite senior citizens’ enthusiastic response, some doctors feel the process of getting Taiwan vaccinated could be going much faster.
The deputy head of Shin Kong Wu Ho Su Memorial Hospital, Hung Tzu-jen, is one of them. Hung argues supplies of the Moderna vaccine are abundant enough that the city might consider expanding eligibility for vaccination to those 68 and older or even 65 and older from next week.