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4 million people eligible for 4th COVID vaccine dose in Taiwan

3 categories of people will start receiving the shots May 16

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The fourth vaccination round could involve 4 million people. (CNA, Penghu County Government photo)

The fourth vaccination round could involve 4 million people. (CNA, Penghu County Government photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — When Taiwan starts administering fourth COVID vaccine doses next week, an estimated 4 million people will be eligible, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Saturday (May 14).

The decision to launch second booster shots came as the daily number of local COVID-19 infections reached more than 60,000, with even higher figures expected by the end of the month.

Beginning Monday (May 16), people from the age of 65, residents of care homes, and people over the age of 18 who are immunocompromised can receive a fourth jab, at least if five months have passed since they received their first booster shot, CNA reported.

A batch of Pfizer-BioNTech for use in the new campaign was likely to arrive in Taiwan next week, while the country was also hoping to receive 2 million doses of the Novavax vaccine via the COVAX platform. The process for Novavax to obtain the emergency use authorization (EUA) for its jabs was expected to last one month.