離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Mix-and-match to use 450,000 Moderna
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung speaks at a meeting of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
COMPENSATION: The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has reviewed 22 cases, with one granted NT$900,000, another NT$10,000 and five given funeral expenses
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
About 450,000 doses of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine might be offered as part of a mix-and-match approach to vaccination, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung （陳時中） told a meeting of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee yesterday.
The policy has been that people who receive a first dose of AstraZeneca PLC’s COVID-19 vaccine can receive a second dose of an mRNA vaccine, such as the Moderna vaccine or Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine, said Chen, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC）.
AstraZeneca and Moderna could be offered as part of such an approach, he added.
About 2 million doses of the Moderna vaccine are available for distribution: local governments have about 500,000 doses and the US donated 1.5 million doses on Monday, he said.
About 1.05 million doses of Moderna would first be offered to those who are waiting for a second dose of the brand and then about 500,000 doses to those who have opted to receive Moderna as their first dose, leaving about 450,000 as mix-and-match doses, Chen said.
The committee had asked Chen to report on the center’s efforts to obtain licenses to manufacture vaccine brands locally, and Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） Legislator Chen Yu-jen （陳玉珍） asked whether the National Health Research Institutes （NHRI） had gained approval to produce the Moderna vaccine locally.
She also asked whether Samsung BioLogics Co had signed a contract with Moderna to manufacture the vaccine in South Korea and if that might hurt Taiwan’s chances of signing a contract with the brand.
Negotiations are ongoing and Taiwan remains in contact with Moderna, NHRI president Liang Kung-yee （梁賡義） said, adding that Samsung’s agreement allows it to fill the vials, seal them and package them for shipping, but not to make the vaccine.
Each firm has its global production plan, and Samsung’s contract might hurt Taiwan’s chances of signing one, Chen said.
However, vaccine makers tend to be secretive about their mRNA technology, so Taiwan has a better chance of signing a contact like Samsung’s, rather than a deal to manufacture the vaccine, he added.
Starting on Monday next week, the US is requiring non-citizens entering the country to be fully vaccinated with a brand approved or authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration （FDA） or one that has a WHO’s emergency use listing.
Responding to lawmakers’ concerns, Chen said that the center’s specialist advisory panel would discuss using a mix-and-match approach for those inoculated with Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp’s COVID-19 vaccine who need to travel to the US.
KMT Legislator Hung Meng-kai （洪孟楷） asked whether people who received one or two doses of Medigen, followed by two doses of a brand acceptable to the US FDA or the WHO, would be permitted to enter the US, and Chen said that they would.
Separately, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang （莊人祥）, who is the CECC’s spokesman, said that the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has reviewed 22 cases, and 18 involved injuries not related to vaccination.
Five cases were granted a funeral allowance, while one case in which the link to vaccination was unclear was granted NT$5,000, he said.
Three of the cases had a link to vaccination: one person was diagnosed with thrombocytopenia syndrome and received compensation of NT$900,000; one had a headache, as well as swelling and pain at the injection site, and received NT$10,000; and one had a mild fever and was not compensated, he added.
Asked whether eating while standing on the side of the road breaks COVID-19 rules, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo （羅一鈞）, deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said that the regulation bans eating while walking at night markets, not at a fixed spot.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs, which created the rule, is seeing what the public thinks and whether it needs to be eased.
Additional reporting by Lin Hui-chin
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
