Priority Order of Recipients for Publicly Funded COVID-19 Vaccination

On February 26 of the 110th year of the Republic of China (2021), the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Republic of China announced the latest list of recipients for the publicly funded vaccine that can prevent infection with COVID-19. Based on occupational risk needs and the public’s health status, they are divided into ten priority tiers, including:

The first tier is medical personnel who maintain medical capacity;

The second tier is central and local government epidemic prevention personnel;

The third is high-contact-risk frontline workers, including flight crew of national airlines, international merchant seamen, epidemic prevention fleet drivers, those at ports who need to contact passengers and foreign crew members, and frontline staff at epidemic prevention hotels, etc.

The fourth tier is those who must travel abroad for special circumstances. The competent authorities submit a description of the need, an estimate of the number of people to be vaccinated, and the schedule, apply to the Central Epidemic Command Center as a special case, and then are provided based on an overall assessment of the vaccine import schedule and supply. The recipients include personnel sent abroad for diplomatic or official duties, foreign diplomatic personnel and their family members stationed in Taiwan who are provided vaccination on a reciprocal basis, and athletes or competitors representing the country abroad.

The fifth tier is police and military police who maintain public order;

The sixth tier is personnel and care recipients of institutional and social welfare care systems;

The seventh tier is personnel necessary to maintain the normal operation of national security, such as military personnel;

The eighth tier is seniors aged 65 and above;

The ninth tier is those aged 19 to 64 with high-risk diseases that easily lead to serious illness, and those with rare diseases and major injuries or illnesses;

The tenth tier is adults aged 50 to 64.

Since the AZ vaccine (Oxford vaccine) that can currently be imported has already shown many cases of side effects abroad, voices of doubt have also emerged domestically. There have even been situations where Germany’s AZ vaccine has piled up like a mountain yet a vaccine shortage has appeared because no one wants to take it. As a result, even the high-risk medical personnel on the front line in Taiwan, despite being arranged in the first tier, have some saying they will refuse vaccination and are unwilling to be guinea pigs under political manipulation.

The public all hopes the government can propose a plan that better meets public expectations, purchase Pfizer-BioNTech-grade vaccines for citizens as soon as possible, and reopen the national border gates at an early date.