Updated vaccines targeting the JN.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2 would be available from Oct. 1, health officials told a news briefing in Taipei yesterday.
The government urges people to get inoculated with any available COVID-19 vaccine, as shots with a 30 percent mismatch to the latest variants can retain up to 80 percent of their effectiveness, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices convener Lee Ping-ing (李秉穎) said.
A recent WHO advisory states that governments should provide vaccinations as soon as doses become available and not try to obtain the latest vaccines at the expense of delaying inoculations, Lee said.
Photo: CNA
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said the centers selected vaccines targeting the JN.1 variant for the fall and winter, as newer vaccines targeting the KP.2 variant are not expected to be available outside North America soon.
Citing the government’s contract with Moderna, Chuang said that 5.5 million doses of JN.1-adapted vaccines would be delivered in the fall and winter, and another 2.7 million doses would arrive late next year.
The CDC plans to authorize COVID-19 vaccine subsidies on a year-by-year basis following the full delivery of Moderna vaccines next year, he said.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese are urged to get vaccinated with the remaining 2.7 million XBB-targeted vaccine doses, he said.
Influenza vaccinations would be administered concurrently with COVID-19 jabs, CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said.
The new COVID-19 vaccines would first be available to doctors, nurses and hospital workers; people aged 65 or older; people of indigenous descent aged 55 or older; and people in long-term care facilities, Tseng said.
Children aged six months to 18 years; parents of infants younger than six months; childcare professionals; people with underlying health conditions aged 19 to 64; people with a body mass index higher than 30; people with rare diseases or serious injuries; and people who work in animal or human disease prevention are also eligible, she said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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