TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Friday (June 25) announced that it will begin offering "leftover COVID-19 vaccines" to adults aged 18 and over who register in advance.

Vaccine vials often contain enough material for 10 people to receive one dose each, but if someone does not show up for their appointment, the container is usually discarded, wasting the remaining doses.

To solve this problem and to more quickly give access to younger, non-prioritized age groups, Deputy CECC Chief Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥) on Friday morning announced that all adults can make a reservation to receive leftover vaccine doses when they become available.

Chen emphasized that adults aged 18 or over who are not in the current priority groups must register in advance at clinics and hospitals where vaccines are being administered. They will then essentially be on standby and will be notified in the event that people have failed to make their vaccine appointment and there is enough residual vaccine for an inoculation that day.

Chen called on institutions administering vaccines to create a waiting list of candidates for the leftover vaccines. He stressed that among the people on the waiting list, those from priority groups will be contacted first before opening it to the general public.

The CECC deputy chief said that if there is less than one dose remaining in one vial, it is currently not advised to mix it with the contents of another vial.