The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday announced that it would make 200,000 doses of a protein-based Novavax vaccine targeting the JN.1 subvariant of COVID-19 available to the public from Wednesday next week.
The vaccine was an alternative for those who previously had an adverse reaction to more common mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, the CDC said.
The Novavax JN.1 jabs would be available to those who are 12 years old or above, CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-huai (曾淑慧) said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Meanwhile, 1.7 million out of the 5.5 million doses of Moderna’s mRNA-based JN.1 COVID-19 vaccine procured by the CDC have already been administered, CDC statistics showed.
As Taiwan is well-stocked with mRNA vaccines, unvaccinated people, particularly those who are 65 or older and those with chronic illnesses, should get a shot as soon as possible to lower the chances of developing terminal symptoms due to COVID-19, Tseng said.
People should also be aware that it takes two weeks for a vaccine to begin providing protection against COVID-19, Tseng added.
In other developments, the CDC said 94,882 visits to emergency departments and outpatient clinics for flu-like symptoms were reported from Dec. 15 to Saturday last week, a 16 percent increase compared with the number of cases recorded the previous week.
Among those who visited emergency departments in that period, 10.8 percent were due to flu-like illnesses, very close to the epidemic threshold of 11 percent, it said.
CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-huai (曾淑慧) warned that in winter, viruses targeting the human respiratory system are more active, and with year-end activities such as Christmas celebrations and New Year’s gatherings, the risk of disease transmission is increasing.
She urged people who have not yet received a flu jab, especially those in high-risk groups, to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
The CDC on Tuesday last week announced that free flu vaccines would be offered to all unvaccinated residents in Taiwan aged 6 months or older starting on Jan. 1 until the vaccine supply is used up.
Police have issued warnings against traveling to Cambodia or Thailand when others have paid for the travel fare in light of increasing cases of teenagers, middle-aged and elderly people being tricked into traveling to these countries and then being held for ransom. Recounting their ordeal, one victim on Monday said she was asked by a friend to visit Thailand and help set up a bank account there, for which they would be paid NT$70,000 to NT$100,000 (US$2,136 to US$3,051). The victim said she had not found it strange that her friend was not coming along on the trip, adding that when she
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Three people have had their citizenship revoked after authorities confirmed that they hold Chinese ID cards, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said yesterday. Two of the three people were featured in a recent video about Beijing’s “united front” tactics by YouTuber Pa Chiung (八炯) and Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源), including Su Shi-en (蘇士恩), who displayed a Chinese ID card in the video, and taekwondo athlete Lee Tung-hsien (李東憲), who mentioned he had obtained a Chinese ID card in a telephone call with Chen, Liang told the council’s weekly news conference. Lee, who reportedly worked in
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