TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan has completed the procurement of 36 million additional doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which are slated to be delivered in shipments between the fourth quarter of this year and 2023.

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) made the announcement at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday (July 22). The deal, which includes the next-generation coronavirus vaccine from the American pharmaceutical, was finalized on Wednesday, reported CNA.

Taiwan reached a rate of 23.5% having had their first jab on Wednesday, nearing the 25% objective set for the end of July, said Su. According to the COVID-19 Dashboard, 5.67 million doses had been given as of July 20, with 154,493 people fully vaccinated.

Over 9.8 million people have registered for a jab via the country’s COVID vaccine reservation system. As of Wednesday, a total of 8.93 million doses from the country's 44.8 million vaccine orders have arrived in Taiwan, including those manufactured by AstraZeneca and Moderna.

TSMC, Foxconn’s YongLin Foundation, and the Tzu Chi Foundation have inked deals with Germany's BioNTech, which will see each organization donating 5 million doses to the government of Taiwan. No timetables have been given as to when the BNT vaccines will arrive.

Reuters reported in March that Moderna has begun the development of a new COVID vaccine that can be stored and shipped in refrigerators for easier distribution. Named mRNA-1283, the vaccine candidate also has the potential to become a booster shot.