Getting the 2nd shot in Taiwan for COVID-19 vaccines

I was wondering that as well since I got mine on May 11th. With this info about waiting 10-12 weeks for the second shot I guess I’ll just chill out about it until the end of July.

3 Likes

I got a text from Far Eastern Memorial Hospital. So their system has kept me in mind.

AZ疫苗第二劑接種通知
您注射第一劑已滿或即將滿8週,7/1起本院官方網站每週四上午8點,開放當週預約第二劑接種,例如:7/1開放7/2、7/8開放7/9,其他各週將依衛生局疫苗撥補狀況類推。請於本院網頁預約 縮短網址產生器 - reurl 亞東醫院關心您!

4 Likes

I got the same text from Far Eastern. I’ve already had the Pfizer for my second shot. I’ll go back mid July and pay for my quarantine jail room.

1 Like

I called Mackay earlier this week, they said they still haven’t recieved many batches of the second batch yet.

The guy was helpful, and explained that they are recieving the vaccine doses in small amounts to avoid the center becoming overcrowded with people wanting it, but AZ doses ARE being kept for the 2nd dose of the paid vaccine. I’ve just got to basically wait until they reach my date.

He also said the doses have bene extended to 10 weeks after the first jab.

2 Likes

I got the same text too… but I think I’m going to get my second shot nearby and avoid traveling…

1 Like

Today, July 1 morning, I got my “self-paid” 2nd Dose AZ at NTUH.

Although the nurse told me to be prepared to pay an administration fee, there was NO fee charged.

Overall, the process was smooth … but one thing to pay attention to …

On the NTUH app, it said location for the vaccination was NTU Medical School Gymnasium, Room 74 … NTUH text message and nurses said NTUH International Conference Center … turns out that the gymnasium and the conference center are right next to each other, and vaccinations are in BOTH locations, but there is only ONE place you are allowed to enter the campus area – right near #2 Xuzhou Road – (there are big banners with red arrows directing you (all in Chinese language) follow the banners … once you enter the campus, then you split off in two directions (71, 72, and 73 to the right to the conference center AND 74, 75, 76, 77 to the left to the gymnasium) … check in outside the entrance and wait for your clinic number to be called (your clinic number is 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76 or 77) … then go inside and have more formal check-in (need your NHI card, APRC, and yellow Vaccination Record Card) … then you are directed to a chair to sit and wait … Doctor will stop to talk to you and put a sticker on your shoulder … then wait for nurse to call you forward … again you are directed to another chair to sit and wait … then the nurse comes, confirms your identity again and gives you the vaccination shot … then you sit and wait until they check to see if you are still ok and give you permission to depart.


9 Likes

Good write up.

Congrats on getting #2!

Guy

About how long did it all take?

Thanks for this.
I’m headed there tomorrow.
Its been great to be 1 day after you all along :grinning:

Congrats on being part of the 0.18% of Taiwan’s population who are fully vaxed!

3 Likes

I hope we—collectively—can do better than this. :neutral_face:

Guy

about an hour … I arrived at 08:25 … left at 09:30

1 Like

Great! Good to hear the process has sped up from the 2 or more hours it took a couple of months ago.

Yep. When my coworker went for the first shot, a week before yours truly, there were four cats so it took about an hour or so.

When Auntie Peng’s turn came, there were huge lines and crowds and it took about over 3 hours in total.

So I was not looking forward to the second shot.

Now I hope I can see the muscled furriner again. :howyoudoin:

1 Like

Getting a second shot is so last week sheesh. :sunglasses::grinning:

Yes … the more hip people will start another forum about how to jones a Pfizer 3rd dose as an AZ booster

1 Like

I had my second shot of AstraZeneca at MacKay hospital (Taipei City branch) a couple of days ago, exactly ten weeks after I got my first dose. The process was … OK. Whole thing took about 75 minutes, including the 15-minute wait afterwards.

You never actually go in the main part of MacKay hospital, just in a few rooms from a side door off an alley. Their explanation page has a map. Note that page does have pretty good English - just scroll down!

  1. If you’re coming from Shuanglian Station, walk around the front of the main building, and turn left down the first alley on Zhongshan Road. There will be a couple of initial tents and awnings - ignore those - and keep going until there’s another awning and tent back near some ventilation and a vehicle gate. Zero English signage.
  2. Get in one line to tell them you’re there: if you made an appointment online, they’ll have your appointment paper to give you. There is no machine to stick your card in. Then wait outside in the alley (yes, in the sun) until your number is called. I waited about thirty minutes. They called numbers in order they arrived, not the order you were on the list (thank goodness), but that does mean you need to pay close attention to the numbers. And so does everyone else. So we’re all standing in a distanced crowd, then packing together every time the nurse emerged to shout out a couple of numbers.
  3. They call your number (all Chinese only), you go in, and sit in a smaller queue for perhaps ten minutes. You’re waved in to see a doctor for a sort of pointless interview asking and informing about side effects. English available.
  4. You go sit in a small interior room with a bunch of other people. They give you a form to fill in, all Chinese. I have no idea how inaccurate my form was, but I know at one point I wrote down my wife’s name with my ID number because I assumed if they were asking for a second name it was an emergency contact, but nope, the nurse looked at my ID number and copied that down in the blank I’d filled with “?”.
  5. Get waved in to another room, get jab (seemed longer this time), get waved back to the small interior room. I opted to wait in a tent outside.
  6. Leave after 15 minutes. No one seemed to be keeping track of when you were supposed to go. I just left.
  7. Possibly useful information: I left a bit before 11am - and the crowd was almost all gone. I suspect you could show up at 10:30 and get through the whole thing a lot faster than I did arriving at 9:30.

Ironically, only twice in the past few months have I been in crowded inside rooms for an extended period of time. Those two times were for vaccines.

Registration: it looks like MacKay is opening up the computer registration a few days early - I see now the computer system is open for today, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday. I believe the computer system only accepts bookings for those who are at least ten weeks.

However, I also chatted with a couple of people who were getting the vaccine slightly earlier - they needed to show plane tickets. So if you’re not yet at the ten-week mark, and you have a plane ticket for imminent departure, you can show up with a copy of that ticket and still get the 2nd dose of the vaccine.

I do not know if they’re only accepting people who got the first shot at MacKay.

After-effects almost unnervingly absent, in comparison to the one-day hangover and four- or five-day feeling of being slightly off with the first dose. “Wait, I’m not feeling anything! Did I get a dud?! Damn, should have listened to mom, who told me never to get injections in back alleys.” Which is quite literally what happened.

12 Likes

I’m the alley behind the hospital ? :grin:

I wonder what’s happening for the second dose to be so different…IIRC the AZ vaccine is a replicating adenovirus (non human).

With the second maybe the infection is shut down quickly by our neutralising antibodies, thus reducing any acute phase type reaction (fever , cytokines) but the immune system recognises that there’s a renewed threat and still ramps up later ?

I need to look into it just spitballing here.

The only other explanation is batch to batch variation.

Edit - seems I’m wrong it’s a non replicating monkey adenovirus .

The researchers added the gene for the coronavirus spike protein to another virus called an adenovirus. Adenoviruses are common viruses that typically cause colds or flu-like symptoms. The Oxford-AstraZeneca team used a modified version of a chimpanzee adenovirus, known as ChAdOx1. It can enter cells, but it can’t replicate inside them.

1 Like

I just did a very quick search, but the articles mainly focus on blood clot issues.

The doctor did say most people have milder side-effects for the second dose. Knowing my ability with psychosomatic symptoms, who knows, perhaps I actually feel like crap but have persuaded myself I don’t.

I think it may be hard at this point to get a 2nd AZ vaccine at a local clinic instead of the big hospitals that administered the first doses, at least in Taipei city. Just called two of the listed clinics in the Nangang area and they both said their supply had already been used up. I’m not eligible for the 2nd jab for another 12 days, so probably will have to go back to MacKay unless there are plans to restock the local clinics.

1 Like