The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices yesterday approved the use of Moderna’s second-generation COVID-19 vaccine as a booster shot for people at high risk of infection or severe disease.
Committee convener Lee Ping-ing (李秉穎) made the announcement about the vaccine, which targets the original virus from 2020 and the Omicron BA.1 subvariant, in a call with journalists following a meeting with experts held by the committee yesterday afternoon.
The committee agreed to recommend the vaccine for use as a booster for two types of vulnerable groups: people aged 65 and older and those aged 18 and older with compromised immune systems, he said.
Photo: AP
The vaccine was also recommended for use among people at high risk of COVID-19 infection, such as frontline medical workers and airport and port employees, said Lee, adding that the vaccine should be administered at least three months after any previous COVID-19 shot.
A shipment of 2 million doses of the second-generation vaccine is expected to arrive in Taiwan sometime this month, he said.
As of Monday last week, 92.7 percent of the eligible population in Taiwan had received one COVID-19 shot, while 86.7 percent had received a second, and 72.2 percent had received a booster, the Central Epidemic Command Center said.
Taiwan yesterday reported 23,931 new local cases of COVID-19 and 31 deaths from the virus, the center said.
The deceased ranged in age from their 40s to their 90s. All but two had chronic illnesses or other severe diseases, and 17 were unvaccinated against COVID-19, it said.
Yesterday, New Taipei City reported the highest number of new cases at 5,329, followed by Taipei with 3,016 and Taoyuan with 2,884.
Taichung had 2,528 new cases, Kaohsiung 1,862, Tainan 1,400, Changhua 994, Hsinchu County 856, Hsinchu City 619, Pingtung 611 and Miaoli 610.
Yunlin County reported 494 cases, Yilan County 493, Hualien County 460, Keelung 433, Nantou County 327, Chiayi County 323, Chiayi City 218, Taitung 204, Penghu County 124, Kinmen County 122 and the Matsu Islands 24, the center said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it