發表日期 2022-10-28T03:00:00+08:00
A health worker prepares to administer a COVID-19 vaccine to a child in Taoyuan on Oct. 15. Photo courtesy of the Taoyuan Department of Health
EUA GRANTED: People aged 12 or older can chose their prefered jab among four new vaccines when enough doses are available, the CECC said
By Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff writer, with CNA
People aged 12 or older can from next week choose which bivalent vaccine adapted for the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 they would like to receive as a booster shot, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
The CECC made the announcement following an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting yesterday afternoon.
On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to the second-generation COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE, as well as the vaccine by Moderna Inc.
Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are each to make two kinds of vaccines available — one adapted to the Omicron BA.1 subvariant, and the other adapted to the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.
Under the EUA, the four adapted bivalent vaccines, which also target the original strain of the virus, would be offered as booster shots to people aged 12 or older, the committee said, adding that the interval between a booster shot with the newly available vaccines and the most recent previous vaccination should be at least three months.
The CECC said it is planning to procure 600,000 to 700,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine, which would likely arrive next month.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said it is difficult to predict how many people would make appointments to receive the new vaccines.
The CECC might adapt its vaccination policy depending on when the doses arrive, he said.
If there are enough doses available, the center would allow people to choose which vaccine they would like to receive, but if fewer doses than expected arrive, they might first become available for certain age groups, he said.
Moderna’s Omicron BA.1-adapted vaccine is currently available as booster shot to people aged 18 or older.
As Moderna doses adapted to the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants have not yet arrived, people aged 12 to 17 can receive the BA.1-adapted vaccine from Tuesday, he said.
Those who have not received a booster shot or have received a monovalent vaccine as booster would be eligible, he added.
Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have also applied for EAUs for their new vaccines for children aged five to 11, the advisory committee said, adding that if granted, the new vaccines would be given as a booster to children at least three month after their last previous COVID-19 vaccination.
新聞來源: TAIPEI TIMES