A batch of Novavax’s updated XBB.1.5 COVID-19 vaccine, with an expiration date of Aug. 31, yesterday arrived in Taiwan, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said.
The batch of of 462,800 doses is to go through lot release testing, before it is made available for people aged 12 or older on Jan. 9, at the earliest, it said.
Earlier in the week, the CDC said that people aged 65 or older and people with chronic diseases should get the vaccine for the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant of SARS-CoV-2 as soon as possible, as the number of COVID-19 cases has been rising in the past few weeks.
Photo courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control
In the week starting on Dec. 18, 326 new COVID-19 were reported, up from about 26 percent from the week before, the agency said.
Of those cases, 99 percent did not receive an XBB vaccine, which has been available since Sept. 26, it said.
Of the 37 COVID-19 fatalities recorded last week — up 16 percent week-on-week — only one of the deceased had received an XBB shot, it said.
Of all of the domestic COVID-19 cases recorded in Taiwan over the past four weeks, 73 percent had the EG.5 strain, followed by JN.1 at 9 percent and XBB.1.9.1 at 6 percent, the CDC said.
The XBB shots are effective in protecting against the EG.5 and JN.1 variants, it said.
As cases of COVID-19 and flu-like illnesses are rising and many people are expected to attend new year’s festivities, the CDC urged people to wear masks in crowded settings with poor ventilation or where social distancing is difficult to achieve, or when visiting elderly or immunocompromised people.
People should also avoid gatherings if they are experiencing respiratory symptoms, to avoid spreading disease, it said.
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
All 24 lawmakers of the main opposition Chinese Nationalists Party (KMT) on Saturday survived historical nationwide recall elections, ensuring that the KMT along with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers will maintain opposition control of the legislature. Recall votes against all 24 KMT lawmakers as well as Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) and KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) failed to pass, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) figures. In only six of the 24 recall votes did the ballots cast in favor of the recall even meet the threshold of 25 percent of eligible voters needed for the recall to pass,
RSS