President Tsai Ing-wen has received her first dose of the Taiwan-made Medigen vaccine at National Taiwan University Hospital. Tsai was among the first to take the shot during the beginning of its nationwide rollout on Monday.
The Medigen COVID-19 vaccine received emergency use authorization from Taiwan health authorities in July. It is the first COVID-19 vaccine made by a Taiwanese manufacturer to become available for mass inoculation.
President Tsai says that she wasn't nervous before getting vaccinated on Monday morning, and she barely felt anything when given the shot. She says she was surprised by how quick and painless the whole process was.
When she first arrived at the hospital, Tsai had her temperature checked and signed in with her National Health Insurance card. A nurse confirmed that Tsai wanted to receive the Medigen vaccine and asked her to fill out some more personal information. NTU Hospital doctors assessed her case and approved Tsai for the vaccine, and later explained possible side effects. After administering the vaccine, a nurse explained the information on Tsai's vaccine history card and the time when she would get the second dosage.
Taiwan's sixth round of vaccinations is taking place this week, with the Medigen vaccine the only vaccine available. This round is open to anyone aged 20 and over, and 599,613 people have booked appointments.