A total of 34,883 people received the XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, the highest daily number since the vaccine became available in September last year, but as about 165,000 doses of the Novavax XBB.1.5 vaccine are still under further examination, some hospitals might experience a temporary shortage of the Novavax’s vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said 34,910 people received the XBB.1.5-adapted vaccine on Friday, including 24,236 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 10,674 doses of the Novavax vaccine, and it is the first time the daily number exceeded 30,000 since the new modified vaccine became available on Sept. 26 last year.
As of yesterday, more than 1.08 million doses of the XBB.1.5-adapted vaccine had been administered, it said, adding that people aged 12 years and older are eligible to receive either the Moderna or Novavax vaccine, while children aged six months to 11 years are eligible for the Moderna vaccine.
Photo: CNA
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) on Friday said that among the about 462,000 doses of Novavax XBB.1.5-adapted vaccine that arrived in Taiwan near the end of last month, 132,200 doses have passed the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) testing and are being administered.
However, it was discovered that 165,000 of the total of 330,000 doses were being stored under abnormal temperatures and failed FDA testing, so the supplier would be asked to exchange the problematic doses with new ones in accordance with contract stipulations, while stability data for the remaining doses are being requested, he said on Friday.
Taipei Veterans General Hospital yesterday said booking for the Novavax XBB vaccine was temporarily halted from Friday last week due to a vaccine shortage. Other
hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Mackay Memorial Hospital, said it would administer the Novavax XBB vaccine until Friday and re-open booking services depending on further vaccine supply, while some hospitals have temporarily halted Novavax’s XBB vaccination.
Lo yesterday said the FDA has received data on the remaining 164,700 doses and is now examining them, and hopefully the vaccine will pass the lot release testing by Friday at the earliest and be distributed to healthcare facilities next week, allowing them to resume vaccination.
“The CDC wants to remind people that COVID-19 is still and is expected to reach its peak in the week before the Lunar New Year holiday, so we recommend that people don’t delay in getting vaccinated,” he said.
Lo said the Moderna XBB vaccine is equally effective and there is sufficient supply, so the CDC urges people to prioritize getting it, rather than waiting for the next available batch of the Novavax vaccine and postpone getting protection against COVID-19.
Elderly people and people with underlying health conditions, in particular, are encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as possible, he said.
CDC data shows there are still approximately 4.5 million doses of the Moderna XBB vaccine available for administering.
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