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.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
RSS