CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan to roll out updated Moderna COVID vaccine starting Sept. 26

Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) Taiwan will roll out Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine against the Omicron subvariant XBB starting Sept. 26, according to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) at a press conference on Wednesday.
The vaccine, which the government granted emergency use authorization (EUA) on Sept. 13, will be first offered to people aged 65 years or older starting Sept. 26, followed by medical staff from Oct. 2, then members of the public from Oct. 9, Chuang said.
However, after the first two groups receive the vaccine, health officials will take at least a week to inspect and label the shots before making them available to the public, Chuang said.
Around 1.32 million XBB.1.5 vaccines doses are scheduled to arrive before Sept. 26, and the government will have a total of 6 million doses before 2024, Chuang said.
In addition, Chuang said people aged 65 and older will receive 10 COVID-19 rapid test kits and gifts valued at NT$500 (US$15.6) when they receive the vaccine shot.
The government said earlier that the updated vaccine is based on similar technology to Moderna's previous shots, and offers strong protection against the Omicron XBB sublineage, which is currently the dominant strain in Taiwan.
In terms of safety, Chiu Cheng-hsun (邱政洵), an attending physician in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, said that adverse reactions to the vaccine are generally mild to moderate in severity, and similar to those of Moderna's previous COVID-19 shots.
COVID-19 cases and deaths have remained low in Taiwan in recent weeks, with an average of 40 local infections and 6 deaths from the disease reported per day between Sept. 12-18, according to CDC data.
- Court rejects state compensation claim over toddler's COVID-19 deathThe New Taipei District Court has recently upheld its rejection of a request for state compensation from the parents of a 2-year-old boy who died from complications related to ...11/11/2023 09:00 PM
- Updated Novavax COVID vaccine to arrive in Taiwan in December: CDCNovavax's COVID-19 vaccine against the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 will likely arrive in Taiwan in December, putting it on track to be the second vaccine offered against more ...11/08/2023 07:54 PM
- Updated Moderna COVID-19 vaccine now available to general public: CDCPeople of all ages in Taiwan can now receive government-funded shots of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine against the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) ...10/11/2023 03:45 PM
- Politics
Ko envisions kingmaker role for TPP in Legislative Yuan
12/07/2023 05:15 PM - Politics
G7 reaffirms importance of peace across Taiwan Strait
12/07/2023 05:00 PM - Society
- Sports
Taipei Dome to add 4,700 seats for Asian Baseball Championship final
12/07/2023 03:57 PM - Politics
Taiwan, Germany sign pact on civil society exchanges
12/07/2023 03:25 PM