The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Thursday announced that the required interval between two COVID-19 vaccine doses for high-risk groups would be shortened from six months to two months, effective from Wednesday next week.
After receiving numerous inquiries from high-risk people seeking a second dose of the JN.1 COVID-19 vaccine before the current 180-day interval ends, the CDC decided to accommodate such requests, the centers said in a news statement.
The shortened 60-day interval, introduced in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, would allow three high-risk groups to “boost their immunity earlier” amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in Taiwan, the CDC said.
Photo: Lo Kuo-chia, Taipei Times
The three high-risk groups include people aged 65 or older, indigenous people aged 55 to 64, and those aged six months or older with weakened immune systems, it added.
About 760,000 people are expected to be eligible for a second jab from Wednesday next week, the date set to allow vaccination sites to complete preparations to accommodate the increased demand, it said.
People who are not in the high-risk groups are only eligible for one dose of the JN.1 COVID-19 vaccine under the publicly funded vaccination program.
The current 180-day interval for high-risk groups is considered a strict standard suitable for periods of low COVID-19 transmission, while the soon-to-be-implemented 60-day interval reflects a more flexible approach in response to rising case numbers, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said.
Citing studies on the XBB COVID-19 vaccine, Lo said that in people aged 65 or older, vaccine protection against COVID-19-related hospitalization is 53 percent within the first 59 days after one dose, dropping to 38 percent between days 60 and 119.
Protection from a single dose further declines to 19 percent between days 120 and 179, and to nearly zero beyond 180 days, he said.
Meanwhile, public demand for the JN.1 COVID-19 vaccines remains strong amid rising case numbers, the CDC said, adding that 69,000 people received the shot between from May 26 to Sunday last week — a 1.7-fold increase from 41,000 in the previous week, and the highest weekly total this year.
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