People who have received only one dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine can register today in the online national vaccination booking system to receive Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech as their second dose, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
The system would accept bookings for the mix-and-match approach from 10am to 4pm today, said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman.
Only those aged 18 or older with one dose of AstraZeneca are eligible, he added.
Photo: Tsai Wen-chu, Taipei Times
Online, people could choose Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech as their preferred second dose, or select both, indicating their order of preference, Chuang said.
Those preferring to receive AstraZeneca as their second dose would not need to make any changes in the system, he said.
The system would be down temporarily from 5pm yesterday to 10am today, he added.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, provided preliminary findings of a clinical trial on the mix-and-match approach conducted at National Taiwan University Hospital.
Those who received AstraZeneca and Moderna showed a stronger immune response than those with two doses of AstraZeneca, but about the same as those with two doses of Moderna, he said.
Those who received AstraZeneca and Moderna with an eight-week interval showed a slightly stronger immune response than a group that received the same combination with an interval of four weeks, he said.
Those who received AstraZeneca and Moderna did report having more side effects after the second dose, compared with those who received two doses of AstraZeneca, Lo said.
As batches of the three brands have recently arrived — providing a stable supply — the center has adjust the recommended interval for them, Chuang said.
It recommends eight weeks for AstraZeneca, and four weeks for Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, Chuang said.
Those eligible can make arrangements in the online system or book directly with healthcare facilities designated by local health departments, Chuang added.
“Many countries now require arrivals to be ‘fully vaccinated,’ so we encourage those planning to travel abroad, as well as young people, to get vaccinated,” he said.
On Tuesday, 216,664 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered, bringing the nation’s first-dose vaccination rate to 76.58 percent and the full vaccination rate to 43.69 percent, he said.
Asked about booster shots, Chuang said that by Jan. 31, only about 263,000 people in Taiwan would have had their second dose for more than six months.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is to hold a meeting on the need for a booster shot, he said, adding that the committee would consider vaccine supply, people’s willingness, research studies and the experience of countries offering booster shots, among other factors.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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