Taiwan to open more COVID vaccine mixing, booster shot options Friday
ROC Central News Agency
12/20/2021 07:36 PM
Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) More COVID-19 vaccine mixing options will be open to the public from Friday while people with weakened immune systems will be able to get an additional dose of the vaccine, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Monday, citing recommendations put forth by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
The ACIP met on Sunday to discuss adjustments to Taiwan's COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and made suggestions on opening up more vaccine mixing options, including for booster doses, as well as administering additional doses of the vaccine to immunocompromised people, the CECC said in a statement.
These suggestions will be implemented starting Friday, the CECC said.
In terms of vaccine mixing, people who have gotten a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be able to choose between AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and the domestic Medigen vaccine as a second dose, the CECC said.
Those who have received either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as a first dose can opt for Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, or Medigen as a second dose, while people who got the Medigen vaccine as a first dose can get a second jab from the Medigen, Moderna, or Pfizer-BioNTech brands, the CECC said.
The mix-and-match option is currently limited to people who got a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and they can choose between AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Pfizer-BioNTech as a second dose.
Despite the mixing options available, the ACIP still suggests that people get the same brand of vaccine for their first two shots, the CECC said.
As for booster doses, the ACIP recommended that people be allowed to choose between the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Medigen brands, regardless of which vaccine brand they had gotten for their first two doses.
As data has shown that the AstraZeneca vaccine is not as effective as a booster, people are only advised to get it if they have had adverse reactions to the other three vaccine brands available in Taiwan, Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said at the CECC press briefing.
The ACIP recommends that people 18 years old and above get their booster shot five months after their second COVID-19 vaccine jab. The purpose of the booster is to help people maintain protection against the virus over time.
Currently, only the Moderna vaccine is offered for booster shots.
Booster shots differ from additional doses of the vaccine, which are a third dose recommended for the immunocompromised, who may not develop the same immune response level after vaccination as others.
The ACIP recommends that immunocompromised people aged 12 and above whose medical conditions are stable receive an additional dose of the vaccine 28 days after their second dose, the CECC said.
These include cancer patients who have received treatment to suppress their immune system in the past year; organ or stem cell transplant recipients; people with moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency; dialysis patients; people with HIV; people taking medications that weaken the immune systems; and people who have received chemotherapy or radiation therapy in the past six months.
People who get an additional dose of the vaccine should still get a booster shot five months after the additional dose, CECC official Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said.
The CECC plans to release additional data on the protection provided by different vaccine brands in the coming days, according to Chen.
To date, 79.5 percent of Taiwan's population of 23.39 million have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot, and 65.7 percent of the population have gotten two doses. An additional 58,750 people have received a booster shot, according to CECC data.
(By Chiang Yi-Ching)
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