A new Moderna COVID-19 vaccine that targets the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant of SARS-CoV-2 is undergoing lot release testing and is expected to be available by next week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that people aged 65 or older would be first in line for the product.
Moderna’s Spikevax XBB.1.5 COVID-19 vaccine received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday last week.
CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said the vaccine is expected to be available by the end of this month, hopefully before the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend from Friday next week to Oct. 1, with people aged 65 or older to be prioritized.
Photo courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control
“Our long-term monitoring data show that the majority of severe COVID-19 and COVID-19-related cases are people aged 65 or older,” Tseng said, adding that eligibility would be expanded according to vaccination rates.
CDC data showed that 78 percent of people hospitalized for COVID-19 were aged 65 or older.
The first shipment of the vaccine to Taiwan consisted of about 700,000 doses, with more expected in the next few months to take the total to about 2 million doses by the end of next month and 6 million by the end of the year, the CDC said.
There are two types of multi-dose vials. One has five doses of 0.5mL, with each dose containing 50 micrograms of the mRNA ingredient, and the other has 10 doses of 0.25mL, with each dose containing 25 micrograms of the mRNA ingredient, Tseng said, adding that the latter is recommended for children aged six months to 11 years.
For children aged six months to four years, the CDC recommends two doses at least 28 days apart for those who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19, one dose for those who have received a first dose at least 28 days prior and one dose for those who have finished a primary series of two doses at least 84 days earlier, she said.
The CDC also recommends one 0.25mL dose for children aged five to 11 years who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19, and one 0.5mL dose for people aged 12 or older who have been vaccinated, with the most recent dose being at least 84 days prior, she said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
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