Taiwan to roll out COVID-19 vaccine against Omicron subvariant XBB
ROC Central News Agency
08/25/2023 07:43 PM
Taipei, Aug. 25 (CNA) Taiwan plans to roll out Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine against the Omicron subvariant XBB in September, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Friday.
The American pharmaceutical and biotechnology firm will, in the coming days, provide all the necessary documentation to apply for an emergency use authorization in Taiwan for the vaccine, CDC Director General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) told reporters after a health education press conference.
When the information is received, it will be reviewed by Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration, Chuang said, indicating that the plan is to administer the vaccine as early as mid to late September.
The first batch is expected to be about 2 million doses, which will initially be made available to people in high-risk groups, he said, while other recipients will have to wait following discussions by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a unit under the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Based on CDC statistics, the Omicron subvariant XBB has been the dominant strain domestically for the past four weeks, with about 94 percent of all cases XBB infections.
Studies have shown that the XBB subvariant has the increased ability to evade neutralizing antibodies, even in those who have already had three COVID-19 vaccine jabs, Infectious Disease Society Chairman Wang Fu-der (王復德) said during the event.
As such, secretary-general of the Taiwan Association of Family Medicine Sun Wen-jung (孫文榮) advised seniors and those in high-risk groups to remain vigilant and seek medical help if they develop symptoms of COVID-19.
Chuang said Taiwan has ordered 14 million vaccine doses from Moderna and it is therefore unlikely the country will need to purchase vaccines from the German biotech firm BioNTech this year.
(By Shen Pei-yao and Ko Lin)
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