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Coronavirus: Taiwan aims for 20 per cent of population vaccinated by end of July
- President Tsai Ing-wen says island will this week have secured 7 million doses, with more on the way
- As outbreak stabilises, she says new vaccine deals are being sought and urges more people to get the jab
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Taiwanese authorities aim to have at least 20 per cent of the population inoculated against Covid-19 by the end of the month after doses from Japan and the United States helped to ease a vaccine shortage, the island’s leader said on Tuesday.
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“We hope to increase the vaccination rate from currently 10 per cent to between 20 and 25 per cent before the end of July if we want to have a meaningful prevention of the pandemic,” President Tsai Ing-wen said in a public video address.
The self-ruled island of 23.5 million has been fighting a spike in cases since late April – its worst outbreak since the pandemic began – but the situation is stabilising and Taiwan’s cabinet on Monday said there was room for “reasonable adjustments” to restrictions on public activities.
As the outbreak worsened between mid-May and mid-June, the island reported a daily high of 723 new cases on May 22 and a record 37 deaths on June 5.
On Tuesday, it recorded 29 new cases and 17 deaths, taking the total to 15,088 infections and 706 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to the Central Epidemic Command Centre.
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The island-wide outbreak has prompted many to seek vaccinations, but authorities have struggled to secure enough doses and are waiting for more than 20 million on order, including from AstraZeneca and Moderna.
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