The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) yesterday agreed to a mix-and-match approach for COVID-19 vaccines, and approved the inclusion of Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp’s (高端疫苗) COVID-19 vaccine in the national vaccination program.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), said it was agreed at an ACIP meeting yesterday morning that a mix-and-match approach was acceptable for people receiving two doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
Most people in the first three COVID-19 vaccination priority groups have received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Chen said.
Photo: Huang Shu-li, Taipei Times
Specialists in the committee said people in those groups should be allowed to receive a mRNA vaccine for their second dose, at least eight weeks after their first dose, he said.
However, to keep the vaccination policy consistent, the center would arrange for the second dose of the mix-and-match regimen to be administered 10 to 12 weeks after the first dose, he said.
Asked when the mix-and-match vaccination strategy would be implemented, Chen said that a date has not yet been set, as the ACIP’s decision was only reached at noon yesterday.
The CECC must still discuss plans for the strategy’s implementation, as well as modify the online vaccination booking system to allow for the mixing of doses, Chen said.
The ACIP also approved the domestic Medigen vaccine for inclusion in the national vaccination program, he said.
Regarding rollout of the Medigen vaccine, Chen said the CECC would need to meet with the vaccine maker to confirm its supply plan and schedule.
Medigen obtained Emergency Use Authorization for its vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration on Monday last week, the first local vaccine maker to do so.
The administration based its decision on data Medigen obtained in a phase 2 clinical trial involving about 4,000 participants earlier this year, which was analyzed using immunobridging and compared to a control group of 200 AstraZeneca vaccine recipients in Taoyuan.
Medigen has said it has permission to conduct a phase 3 clinical trial among 1,000 people in Paraguay.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
CCP ‘PAWN’? Beijing could use the KMT chairwoman’s visit to signal to the world that many people in Taiwan support the ‘one China’ principle, an academic said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday arrived in China for a “peace” mission and potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), while a Taiwanese minister detailed the number of Chinese warships currently deployed around the nation. Cheng is visiting at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, as the opposition-dominated Legislative Yuan stalls a government plan for US$40 billion in extra defense spending. Speaking to reporters before going to the airport, Cheng said she was going on a “historic journey for peace,” but added that some people felt uneasy about her trip. “If you truly love Taiwan,
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
RSS