So far 24,000 people have been vaccinated with the first batch of the AstraZeneca vaccines Taiwan has received. The second batch that was purchased from COVAX will expire at the end of May. Now Taiwan has a total of 316,000 doses of vaccines that must be administered within two months, and many are worried that the vaccines won''t be used up in time. Dr. Lee Ping-ing of the Ministry of Health and Welfare said that if there are still many leftover doses from the government''s free vaccination program, self-paid vaccination would likely be made more widely available.
To date, Taiwan has received two batches of vaccines, totaling 316,000 doses. However, the second batch of 199,200 doses purchased from COVAX has a closer expiration date than the first batch. With the second batch expiring on May 31, many are worried that the vaccines may not be used up before that date.
Lee Ping-ing
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
If we allow too many doses to be available for self-paying recipients, it might affect those eligible for a free jab, so we must take the time to make sure this will not happen. Since this vaccine has a short shelf-life, if there are enough leftover doses from the vaccination program, then of course we can consider allocating more doses to self-paying recipients.
With the public’s reluctance to get vaccinated, some have suggested bending the expiration dates of the two batches, which are labeled as end-of-May and mid-June respectively. Experts, however, are concerned about the safety risks of using the vaccines beyond their expiration date.
Lee Ping-ing
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
Even if the vaccines do not spoil, as long as the vaccine manufacturer did not, when determining the expiration dates, conduct stability tests, then it is likely that the doses will expire at the date labeled, and so must be disposed of.
The vaccination program will be expanded on Monday to include those that belong to the second and third categories on the priority list. The second category includes epidemic prevention workers in central and local governments. The third, people with a higher risk of exposure due to their occupations, such as city and county mayors, flight crew members, sailors and drivers of epidemic prevention taxis. The two categories include a total of 125,000 individuals.
