Taiwan yesterday morning took delivery of its first shipment of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX vaccine sharing alliance.
The shipment of 504,000 Novavax doses arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on board China Airlines Flight CI-74 from Amsterdam at 7:03am.
The vaccines were transported to a cold-storage warehouse, where they were to be inspected ahead of an expected rollout on Friday next week.
Photo: CNA
The doses, which are to expire on Sept. 30, are the first part of Taiwan’s order of 2.268 million Novavax vaccines from COVAX, the rest of which would be delivered by the end of the year.
The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Novavax jab on June 18, after reviewing its quality, safety and efficacy data.
Under the EUA, people aged 18 or older would receive two 0.5-milliliter doses given three weeks apart.
The vaccine can also be used as a first and second booster shot.
To date, 91.28 percent of Taiwan’s population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine, 83.31 percent has received at least two doses, and 70.1 percent has received a booster shot, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) data showed.
Taiwan yesterday reported 38,846 new local COVID-19 cases and 118 deaths from the disease, the CECC said.
The people who died were aged from their 20s to 90s, and included 115 who had chronic illnesses or other severe diseases, and 53 who were unvaccinated, it said.
The CECC also reported eight new cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), including a seven-month-old boy, the youngest child who has to date been diagnosed with the condition.
The boy, who has no chronic illnesses, on Monday last week began displaying symptoms of MIS-C, including a fever, a cough, a runny nose, bloodshot eyes, vomiting and a rash, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division.
The boy was taken to hospital two days later, where he tested positive for COVID-19, Lo said.
As the test result indicated that the boy had contracted COVID-19 some time ago, doctors concluded that his symptoms were likely due to MIS-C, Lo said.
MIS-C is a rare, but potentially serious inflammatory reaction that affects children — typically those aged six to 12 — two to six weeks after they contract COVID-19.
The inflammation can affect the lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, gastrointestinal organs and other parts of the body.
However, the boy’s condition improved, and he was discharged from hospital on Monday, Lo said.
The other seven new MIS-C cases reported yesterday included two children who are still in hospital, while the other five have recovered and been discharged from hospital, Lo said.
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