Thu, Dec 23, 2021 page1

• Digital vaccination certificate applications to begin

  WEIGHING OPTIONS: More people who received the AstraZeneca-Moderna vaccine combination reported side effects than people who got the AstraZeneca-Pfizer set

  • By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
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  Applications for a digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate would be launched next week, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported the most common adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines in Taiwan.

  The certificate would be recognized by the EU, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.

  The European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan on Tuesday said that “the European Commission has adopted an equivalence decision certifying that COVID-19 certificates issued by Taiwan are equivalent to the EU Digital COVID Certificates.”

  The European Commission’s decision took effect yesterday, the trade office said, adding that the EU Digital COVID Certificate does not replace travel documents such as passports, and does not change entry conditions into the EU.

  In addition to the EU, Taiwan is negotiating with other countries to recognize each other’s COVID-19 vaccination certification, Chen said, adding that the details of Taiwan’s digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate would be announced next week.

  Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), the CECC’s spokesman, said that the EU recognizes the content of Taiwan’s digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate.

  However, it is up to each EU member state to decide whether travelers can be exempted from mandatory quarantine or undergo a shorter quarantine period based on the vaccine they received and whether the vaccine is accepted by the country they travel to, Chuang said.

  He said that 56,476 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered on Tuesday, bringing the nation’s first-dose vaccination rate to 79.64 percent, its full vaccination rate to 66.1 percent and its booster vaccination rate to 0.29 percent.

  Chuang used several charts to explain the most common adverse reactions that people in Taiwan have had after receiving different brands of COVID-19 vaccines, including mix-and-match regimens.

  The charts were based on self-reported data from the CDC’s Taiwan V-Watch online vaccination follow-up system.

  Most people said that their side effects disappeared within seven days of being vaccinated for their first and second doses, he said.

  In the first two days following vaccination, the most common generalized symptoms were fatigue, muscle pain or soreness, and a headache, while the most common localized symptoms were pain or swelling at the injection site, he said.

  More people who received the AstraZeneca-Moderna vaccine combination reported side effects than people who received the AstraZeneca-Pfizer combination, the data showed.

  Huang Yu-cheng (黃玉成), a professor at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital’s Pediatric Infectious Disease Division and a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, was asked at the news conference to explain the benefits of additional jabs, as a booster dose is to be available to eligible recipients from tomorrow.

  The two primary doses train the body’s immune response to combat the virus, reducing the risk of severe symptoms and death, while an additional primary dose is suggested for immunocompromised people, to raise their immune protection to roughly the same level as most people would have after two doses, Huang said.

  Antibody levels gradually fall, so about six months after the primary dose, a booster is suggested for everyone, which reduces the risk of vaccine breakthrough infections, he said.

  The committee generally recommends two doses of the same vaccine for the primary doses, but local studies have found that the AstraZeneca-Medigen regimen can produce antibody levels that are two to three times more than following two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and can even boost antibody levels by up to 10 times, he said.

  However, more people reported side effects from the mix-and-match regimen than those who received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, so the committee suggests that people weigh the benefits of protection against the side effects and take into consideration their previous vaccination experiences when choosing a vaccine for their second dose, Huang said.
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