Assessment of Covid-19 Vaccine Procurement And Supply in Taiwan

Assessment of Covid-19 Vaccine Procurement And Supply in Taiwan

Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent infectious diseases. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination has been deemed to be essential in this fight against the disease. In order to provide COVID-19 vaccines to people in Taiwan, the government began its efforts to procure vaccines as soon as the candidate vaccines entered clinical trials even though information such as safety and efficacy were not available. Multiple channels were pursued by the government to gain access to vaccines, including domestic manufacturing, procurement from international manufactures and participation in the COVAX facility. Unlike most countries, Taiwan started its national COVID-19 vaccination campaign on March 22, 2021, before domestic community outbreaks occurred in May 2021. As of July 26, 2022, around 60.58 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines arrived and were administered to 59.29 million people. The coverage rates for the completed series and a booster dose exceeded 85% and 71%, respectively, higher than the 2022 vaccination target (70%) set in the WHO Global COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy.