The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it would expand the government-funded COVID-19 vaccination program from Jan. 1 to Feb. 28 to cover all residents — including foreign nationals — aged six months and older.
With the year-end holidays and the Lunar New Year travel period approaching and expected to bring increased movement of people, another wave of infections could emerge around May next year, based on past trends, CDC spokesperson Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said.
The decision to expand the COVID-19 vaccination program was made following consultations with experts from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Tuesday, the CDC said, with the goal of boosting immunity and reducing risk of severe illness and death.
Photo: Taipei Times
Currently, free COVID-19 shots are offered only to 10 high-risk groups, including people aged 50 and older, children aged six months to under six years, healthcare workers, pregnant women and people aged six months or older with chronic health conditions or diseases.
The expanded program at the start of next year is to cover all residents, including foreign nationals with alien resident certificates and alien permanent resident certificates.
Based on CDC statistics, more people have received COVID-19 shots so far this year than in the same period last year.
Among them, doses administered to those aged 65 and older were up 30.7 percent, while those for people aged 50 to 64 rose 18.3 percent.
Taiwan administers Moderna’s LP.8.1 and Novavax’s JN.1 vaccines, both shown to be safe and effective against the COVID-19 NB.1.8.1 and XFG variants, the CDC said.
People aged 12 and older can choose either vaccine brand, while children aged six months to 11 years are eligible only for the Moderna LP.8.1 vaccine.
The agency warned that the risk of severe illness from COVID-19 remains higher than influenza, and urged people to get vaccinated early to ensure adequate protection before the Lunar New Year holidays.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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