TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Children between the ages of five and 11 are also eligible for vaccination against COVID-19, with Moderna doses arriving in Taiwan on Saturday evening (April 23), according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The 200,400 doses have an expiry date of July 29, and as a special emergency use authorization (EUA) has been approved, children will also benefit from the new delivery, the Liberty Times reported. Saturday’s batch of Moderna shots will be the fourth to reach Taiwan this year, totaling 4.34 million doses out of 20 million ordered this year.

The next delivery of at least 1 million Moderna doses is expected next week, CECC chief Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said. The contract Taiwan signed with Moderna in July 2021 covered the delivery of 35 million COVID vaccine doses over two years.

Talks with Pfizer about purchasing vaccine doses for children are also close to completion, though Chen mentioned “one or two minor problems” that had emerged Friday (April 22), without going into detail.

Apart from vaccines, Taiwan has also procured oral COVID drugs, with the first 180,000 courses of Paxlovid out of 700,000 ordered from Pfizer having arrived recently.