The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday approved the release of 164,700 doses of Novavax vaccines for the XBB.1.5 variant of SARS-CoV-2, which are expected to be ready for distribution by Tuesday.
A total of 330,000 doses arrived in Taiwan at the end of last year, but only 132,200 doses were approved for release amid concern over proper storage temperature during delivery, prompting a request for Novavax to provide documentation that the vaccines are still valid.
The FDA also confirmed that another 165,000 doses are to arrive by the end of the month, as more people test positive for the XBB.1.5 subvariant across Taiwan and in the region.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
Local vaccinations rose 33 percent from Monday to Thursday compared with last week, the FDA said.
To date, the government has administered Moderna’s XBB vaccine to 1.13 million people and Novavax’s XBB vaccine to 660,000 people.
With a cold wave forecast to arrive tomorrow, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reminded people to dress accordingly when attending year-end banquets and other events.
The CDC recommended that those eligible for vaccination to get their shots as soon as possible to maximize protection.
People aged 12 or older can choose either the Moderna or Novavax vaccine, while children aged six months to 11 years old who are eligible for vaccination should only receive the Moderna vaccine.
The CDC said the public can consult the Fall-Winter vaccines page on its Web site for more information on hospitals and clinics offering such services.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said that the government had 4.3 million Moderna XBB variant vaccines in storage and 60,000 Novavax vaccines.
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
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
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
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