Unfortunately that’s the only shipment Taiwan has received so far, so I assume they all expire on the same date. I’ve wondered how that is going to work, also.
And yeah, the date they give you for the second dose is just the recommended date, not an appointment. Unfortunately I believe it’s also the earliest possible date for the second dose, eight weeks from the first.
Yes my stomach was messed up day after. Returned to normal second day.
I think I read about two shipments, one through COVAX and one directly from AstraZeneca.
As for the registration they told me you have to register by yourself through the website (same way as for the first shot)
There’s another AZ batch on the way as well as Moderna.
OK, follow up: according to this Focus Taiwan article, there will be a new AZ shipment before June 15; and on expirations:
To date, Taiwan has received 117,000 vaccine doses purchased directly from AstraZeneca, with an expiration date of June 15, and 199,200 of the same brand supplied through COVAX, which are due to expire on May 31.
Correct, but the first shipment arrived far later than its “on the way” estimate date.
June 15 is what I read, as well. That’s the day before the first group of self-pay first doses will be eligible for second dose. I didn’t realize there were some expiring even sooner than that.
The government mentioned at looking at extending the expiration date , doing some tests. They haven’t managed things well at all .
.They should have thought about moving the date of the second shot earlier. Anyway…Messy !
The main bottleneck for mine was the health check up—a couple of rushed nurses trying to deal with 30+ people all trying to fill out forms and do the blood pressure test at the same time while also calling people in to see the doctor and directing people were to go.
Reckon when it comes to mass vaccinations, the registration needs to be seperate from the regular hospital patients and have people pay there. And cut the health check step altogether.
I was there for around 2 hours. The jab itself took just a 5 minute wait. The main wait and delay was the healthcheck and then payment.
2 hours is ok, I didn’t mind–kept me out of work for a bit. But when 100s or 1000s are getting jabbed a day rather than 50, it’s gonna be a bit of a mess.
I’ve been given I think 8 weeks for my 2nd jab. UK is giving people the jab after around 12 weeks, so there is a bit of leeway. I think I have read–don’t quote me on this as guaranteed fact–that 12 weeks what the UK is going is actually better with AZ than the shorter one.
Like @The_Ghost mentioned, I seem to recall that AZ is apparently less efficacious if the second dose is administered too quickly.
I have no doubt that there will indeed be more AZ vaccines for folks who need the second shot.
Guy
Which foods, just out of interest? 
Signed up to get the jab this Thursday morning. Have a long weekend to recover from potential discomfort.
Yeah, if they’re having problems convincing enough people to take the vaccine before it expires, I’m sure that relabeling it with a new expiry date will boost consumer confidence. 
Maybe they can stick a Pfizer label on each vial while they’re at it?
Well I have some experience of this and actually expiry dates are usually a moveable feast as long as you check that it hasn’t degraded.
But it creates some issues for sure ! They got the timing all wrong.
If they push all these doses and get the next batch on time then it might work out ok.
Switching up the expiry dates—after the initial dates have been announced and widely circulated—would lead, I think, to more confused messaging. I suspect that’s the last thing that the authorities need when faced with an already vaccine-skittish Taiwanese public!
Guy
Sure - expiry dates are always going to be a conservative estimate, but I presume that AZ has done stability studies and developed analytical methods to come up with the shelf life under the intended storage conditions it’s come up with, not all of which will be public, and I’d be surprised if a government can decide it knows better without AZ’s approval/input?
Taiwan administering expired vaccines without that approval would hardly be a good look.
(And I can’t see that there would be much in it for AZ to agree that the shelf life can be extended - that would mean lost profit and a risk of reduced efficacy, and open other countries up to doing the same.)
Well they already talked about doing this it’s not just my idea. They may just throw them down the drain, I don’t know.
Besides the UK actually stretched out the dosing time period against the vaccine manufacturers instructions, and it worked out pretty well.
That is correct. It appears to have even higher efficacy at 12 weeks than it does at 8! I’m not aware of any country having approved it with less than 8. I’m not sure why it is twice as long as the waits between doses of Moderna and Pfizer. Anyone with more medical expertise than I understand that?
That was my longest wait, too, but it was still just one wait out of many. It accounted for maybe 30-40 minutes of my 3+ hours spent. There was even a long line just to get in the building. Perhaps ironically, the step with the shortest wait was when I actually got the jab. They are super efficient with that part! Then you have to wait 30 minutes after getting it before you can leave, though.