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(Recasts, adds Taiwan premier comment)
TAIPEI, March 19 (Reuters) - Taiwan will begin its COVID-19
vaccination programme on Monday using AstraZeneca Plc
shots, its health minister said on Friday, with Premier Su
Tseng-chang volunteering to be inoculated first to underscore
confidence in its safety.
Taiwan's first vaccines - 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca
shot - arrived on the island earlier this month from a South
Korean factory.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung told reporters that
officials had now given the go-ahead for the shots to start
being administered from Monday at 57 vaccination sites around
the island.
Around 60,000 people are in line to get the first
vaccinations and Taiwan is prioritising health workers to get
the shots.
In December, Taiwan said it had agreed to buy almost 20
million vaccine doses, including 10 million from AstraZeneca.
More than a dozen European countries suspended use of the
vaccine this week amid concerns about its safety, though the
World Health Organization's European director said on Thursday
the benefits of the shot far outweigh any risks, and its
widespread use resumed on Friday.
Chen said he would have "no problem" taking the shot
himself, and Taiwan's Premier Su said he would be happy to be
inoculated first.
"Premier Su believes he should let people have more
confidence in imported vaccines, so he expressed his willingness
to take the lead in getting the AstraZeneca vaccine," Su's
office said in a statement.
Arrangements are up to health authorities to decide, it
added.
Taiwan's government has played down concerns about the late
start to the vaccination programme, saying that with such a low
case rate there is not the urgency that exists in other
countries where the pandemic remains rampant.
Only 35 people remain in hospital being treated for COVID-19
in Taiwan. The island has kept the pandemic well under control
thanks to early and effective prevention, including largely
closing its borders.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jan Harvey)
