Starting from June 15, senior residents over 85 years old in Tainan are eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations. To avoid the hassle and discomfort of traveling, Tainan City Government asked the Public Health Bureau to collaborate with local clinics and assigned inoculation stations for the elderly in every administrative district. On average, senior residents only have to spend 15 minutes by car to reach the closest inoculation station.
Mayor Huang Wei-che said that the vaccinations given to the elderly citizens over 85 years old are part of the 1.24 million doses donated by Japan. While other cities and counties set up large inoculation stations to serve the elderly, Tainan city took into account that it is not very convenient for seniors to travel far and decided to follow the Central government’s “getting vaccinated close to home” guideline. A total of 158 small-scale community inoculation stations were set up throughout the city so that elderly residents do not have to travel far to get vaccinated. Tainan also rolled out shuttling services (between the senior’s residence and inoculation station) and assembled a team that can directly go to the senior resident’s house to administer the shot.
Huang Wei-che pointed out that among the six special municipalities, Tainan City has the densest distribution of inoculation stations and each station is responsible for the least amount of people. To make it easier for elderly residents to get their vaccinations, the city government also arranged for Fu-Kang buses, day-care shuttles, and social workers to stand by at the district offices during service times each day to help senior citizens commute between their homes and inoculation stations.
According to the Tainan City Government, residents eligible for this phase of vaccination will receive an inoculation notice from their borough clerk and borough chief. The notice contains information such as time and location of inoculation and also reminds the residents to bring their ID card and NHI card.
The city government also reminded the public that after receiving the vaccine, they may experience side effects such as pain in the region of injection, fatigue, headaches, joint and muscle soreness/pain, higher body temperature, chills, and nausea. If they continue to have a fever (≧38℃) for over 48 hours, show severe allergy symptoms such as difficulty in breathing, labored breathing, dizziness, accelerated heart rate, or full-body rashes, please seek medical help immediately.