The arrival of imported COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan may not arrive until July according to health authorities, who urged the public to avoid going out during the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival holiday.

The vaccines procured under the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access program would not arrive in Taiwan until July, while the delivery of the British AstraZeneca vaccines would be delayed by a month, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung told lawmakers.

The Moderna vaccine was expected to arrive in the third quarter of this year, he said.

Premier Su Tseng-chang said during the legislative session that there were issues in the supply and delivery of overseas vaccines. He attributed the delays to the mutant strains that have worsened the outbreak in many other countries.

Taiwan recorded 219 new COVID-19 cases and 22 new deaths on Tuesday, with all new cases being locally transmitted, the Central Epidemic Command Center reported.

While the persistent wave of the latest COVID-19 outbreak had gradually stabilized, Chen urged people to stay alert and avoid going out during next week’s Dragon Boat Festival.

Taiwan suspended face-to-face classes on Monday until the summer break to prevent transmission of COVID-19, and extended the level-three island-wide epidemic alert, the second-highest alert level, until at least June 28.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen had said earlier that the island’s locally-developed vaccines would be ready as early as July.

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