With the international rush and the geopolitical situation, every vaccine in Taiwan is hard to come by. Unlike previous years’ vaccinations, this time we not only had to consider the public’s acceptance of each brand, willingness to administer, timing, and location, but also had to evaluate the best overall vaccination layout with the timing, quantity, and brand of vaccines arriving.

The “1922 Vaccine Registration and Appointment Platform”, which was launched in July, was created with such complex considerations in mind. Unlike the flu vaccine, which can be administered in the order of the household registration, the platform must consider the vaccine type, quantity, and brand, as well as the public’s acceptance of the vaccine brand, their willingness to receive the vaccine, the time and place of administration, in order to accurately and effectively dispense the vaccine.

The platform is designed to seamlessly connect the demand side and the supply side so that each precious vaccine can be administered in the shortest possible time. Therefore, in the planning of the system, we focus on a few core principles:

  • First, we must strive to meet the needs of local governments in terms of implementation. In order to avoid conflicting needs among local governments, we should have many conversations and reach a consensus with local governments beforehand.
  • Second, the public should be able to fully express their wishes on the vaccine brand, time and location, and more importantly, maintain the room for adjustment at any time with the arrival of different brands.
  • Finally, for people who work, live and are domiciled in different places, it is important to avoid the risk of contracting the vaccine by traveling from one place to another.

It was a challenge to reconcile these principles. Fortunately, the local government was able to do its best to notify the public and successfully complete its mission, using telephone appointments, walk-in registrations, and village and neighborhood leaders to assist people in making appointments.

As the arrival of vaccines became more stable, the Central Epidemic Command Center began to expand the target population for vaccination, opening up the vaccination to foreigners who are legally resident but do not have a health insurance card, and also planning to gradually open up the vaccination to adolescents under the age of 18 and those who have a household registration but no health insurance status.

Under this policy, the data flow of the system is integrated into the inter-agency data of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Immigration Department, and the Ministry of the Interior, and for the first time is consolidated into a single window with a single ID number, passport number, and entry/exit permit number. Daily statistics are also made available as open data for immediate reference.

We are pleased that local health bureaus and civil affairs bureaus have responded that the system has shown significant improvement over door-to-door notification system the past. Not only can we avoid inadvertent mix-ups, but we can also accurately deploy manpower and materials at the vaccination stations, so that the original 40-50% vaccination rate at the vaccination stations can be greatly increased to over 90%.

It cannot be denied that in practice, the central government continues to receive feedback from front-line colleagues in local governments about the need to make repeated appointments for people who have already received their first dose before the system goes online, and the time and effort required to compile the registry, etc. Many people have also commented that it is not easy to understand their wishes to register and make vaccine appointments, and have suggested ideas for improvement. For each specific suggestion, we carefully evaluate and adjust to make the vaccination process smoother.

We also receive heartwarming responses from the feedbacks, for example from young people who took the initiative to help their parents register and make appointments online, creating a family bond and becoming a topic of conversation between parents and children. Although the epidemic has forced us to restrict our environment, it has also allowed us to see and cherish our friends and family again. We hope that with the concerted efforts of all sectors, the epidemic will be brought under control soon, so that we can resume social activities and enjoy the happiness of human relationships by chatting and dining together.