Update 4:30 p.m.

The exact number of the doses is 99,600, according to CECC.

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) announced on Sunday (Aug. 8) that around 100,000 Moderna vaccine doses will arrive in the afternoon.

The flight shipping the jabs, operated by national carrier China Airlines, took off from Luxembourg in the early hours and is scheduled to arrive at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 3 p.m., Su wrote in a Facebook post.

At least 36.88% of the population has received the first shot, Su noted, up from the less than 1% in early May. The country has picked up the speed of its mass inoculations since mid-May amid a local surge of COVID cases.

Global vaccine supplies have been hitting speed bumps, with Moderna suggesting in late July that its vaccine deliveries outside the U.S. will be delayed due to manufacturing problems, wrote Reuters. This could disrupt the plan for 1.85 million elderly to receive their second Moderna dose starting Sept. 10, the Central Epidemic Command Center has said.

As of Aug. 8, Taiwan has secured 3.75 million Moderna doses, including 2.5 million gifted by the U.S. and 1.25 million it procured on its own. Taiwan has purchased a total of 41.05 million Moderna jabs, according to a CNA tally, with the bulk of them slated to arrive in 2022 and 2023.