People who receive a first dose of the Medigen COVID-19 vaccine between Monday and Sunday would be eligible for a second shot from Sept. 27, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
The Medigen vaccine was rolled out on Monday, with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) receiving the first shot.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that as there are no independent studies showing an optimal interval between two Medigen doses, the interval has been set at about 28 days, following what was done in clinical trials.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The CECC would arrange for people to book an appointment for a second dose through the national online COVID-19 vaccination system to receive dose No. 2 from Sept. 27, Chen said.
People who have received a first Medigen dose at least 28 days prior and have an urgent need for a second dose due to travel plans abroad can take their vaccination and other documents — for example, airline ticket receipts, flight itineraries, proof of enrollment in a foreign school or business travel permission — to a designated hospital, get assessed by a doctor and receive the second dose earlier than they would through the booking system, he said.
Asked about public figures reporting “feeling hungry” after receiving a first dose of the Medigen vaccine, CECC specialist advisory panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said that such a side effect was not reported in clinical trials.
From an academic perspective, Chang said that he does not understand how vaccination could cause hunger.
However, some side effects of other vaccines were not reported during phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, but were after they were rolled out, so if people report “feeling hungry” after receiving the Medigen vaccine, the authorities would monitor it as a post-vaccination adverse event.
Meanwhile, three people who had received a Medigen dose have died, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), the CECC’s spokesman.
A man in his 40s who had diabetes and weighed more than 120kg received the vaccine on Monday and fainted at work yesterday, Chuang said.
An automated external defibrillator was used on site, but the man died before arriving at a hospital, Chuang said.
A woman in her 40s who received the vaccine on Tuesday reported chest tightness, and numbness in her feet and hands that afternoon, Chang said.
She was taken to National University Hospital’s emergency room, where a computerized tomography scan showed a serious aortic dissection that had led to blood accumulation in the pericardium, he said.
She died that evening, he said.
A man in his 30s who did not have underlying health conditions, but had a record of illegal drug use, received the vaccine on Monday and died before arriving at a hospital on Tuesday afternoon, Chuang said.
Family members said that they saw the man injecting drugs in the morning, Chuang said.
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