Starting today, children aged 5 to 11 who received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine more than four weeks earlier can receive their second dose, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children was first administered on May 22, and the recommended interval between the two doses has been shortened to four to eight weeks, said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division.
“Therefore, starting from June 22, local governments will begin administering second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children,” he said. “Parents whose children received their first dose more than four weeks ago can book a vaccine appointment for a second dose at contracted healthcare facilities.”
Photo: CNA
On-campus vaccination sessions will be arranged in cooperation with schools and education departments, and are expected to take place between late this month and early next month, he added.
Lo said some parents have asked what they should do if their child turns 12 during the interval between receiving the first and second doses.
Such children can receive their second dose based on the recommended interval of four to eight weeks apart from the first dose, but the dosage for the second one will be based on the recommended dosage for children aged 12 to 17, he said.
For instance, a child who received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for their first dose would get a 0.5ml dose for their second one; and if they received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for their first dose, they would get a 0.3ml dose for their second one, Lo said.
Schools should also pay attention to the number of students who are turning 12 when they survey students’ willingness to get vaccinated on campus, and inform the healthcare facility, so it can prepare the suitable vaccine, he added.
About 550,000 doses of the vaccine against COVID-19 are to be distributed to local governments today, he said, adding that approximately 780,000 children have received a first dose.
A total of 88,496 vaccine doses were administered on Monday, bringing the nation’s first, second and booster dose vaccination rates to 91.18 percent, 82.74 percent and 69.47 percent respectively, CECC data show.
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