A must-see before returning home for the Chinese New Year! Should I take the "next-generation vaccine" before going home? What types of additives are available?
A must-see before returning home for the Chinese New Year! Which groups should receive the “next generation vaccine”?
Recently, on the eve of the Lunar New Year, China officially announced the lifting of the blockade. In addition, the Omicron sub-variant “XBB.1.5” is coming fiercely, and it is now the main circulating virus strain in the United States. Many people are worried that the epidemic in Taiwan will worsen as a result, leading to the continued expansion of the virus transmission chain. Dr. Huang Xuan, an expert in critical care medicine, said in the community that there are four major groups that should be vaccinated as soon as possible before the Chinese New Year:
There are elderly or high-risk groups in the family.
Those who have not yet received the booster dose.
Those who have been diagnosed with infection and have recovered for more than 3 months.
Those who have relatives and friends returning to Taiwan from abroad before the Spring Festival.
Dr. Huang Xuan said that the third wave of the epidemic will reoccur in Taiwan, and many people will return to the country for reunions during the Lunar New Year. Since epidemic prevention abroad is not as strict as Taiwan, he calls on Taiwanese to seize the time this week and get vaccinated as soon as possible. Generation Vaccine, when the vaccine concentration reaches the standard 14 days later, it happens to be during the Lunar New Year, which will be helpful to improve your own protection, and can also protect your family and reduce the risk of infection.
What booster doses of vaccines are available in Taiwan? Can young people aged 18-49 undergo injections?
As for the types of COVID-19 booster vaccines currently available? “Healthorn” lists the following based on the information published by the Central Epidemic Command Center (special thanks to Dr. Jiang Guanyu for assisting in the review). It should be noted that the types of vaccines provided by various counties and cities may be different. This article is for reference only. The detailed supply status of vaccines should be based on the latest information released by the health bureaus of each county and city and the epidemic command center:
Toddler BNT (6 months to 4 years old)
Children’s BNT (over 5-11 years old)
BNT (over 12 years old)
High-end vaccines (over 20 years old)
Novavax (over 12 years old)
Children’s Moderna Next Generation BA.4/5 (over 6-11 years old, additional dose only)
Moderna next generation BA.1 (over 12 years old, additional dose only)
Moderna Next Generation BA.4/5 (over 12 years old, additional doses only)
The Epidemic Command Center reminds those who are eligible for vaccination (who have completed the basic dose, and the interval between the last basic dose or the previous booster dose is more than 12 weeks) to make an appointment for vaccination, which can reduce serious illness, hospitalization and death caused by infection. risk.
Are you worried about the side effects of the vaccine? Taiwan Food and Drug Administration clarifies: Adverse reactions are similar to those of monovalent vaccines
Many people are worried about the serious side effects of next-generation vaccines, and thus stay away from them, especially the Moderna vaccine. In fact, according to information published by the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare, Food and Drug Administration, in terms of safety data, the frequency of local or systemic adverse reactions in the next-generation vaccine booster dose is similar to that of the prototype vaccine, and most of them are mild to moderate. Mainly, the common adverse reactions are:
Pain and swelling at the injection site
Tiredness
Headache
Muscle soreness
Taiwan Food and Drug Administration pointed out that the BA.4/5 bivalent vaccine and the BA.1 bivalent vaccine have the same manufacturing process and similar composition, and are expected to be able to induce better neutralizing antibody immune responses against Omicron mutant strains. In addition, the command center stated that considering that we are still in the epidemic period of the Omicron subtype mutant strain, and based on data showing that young people have a higher infection rate, and that Taiwan’s epidemic prevention policies and border controls are gradually opening up, after written consultation with the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, The Group on Preventive and Immunization (ACIP) comments and weighs the current status of vaccine approval and supply in Taiwan.
In order to protect the health of young people, since October 11 last year, the command center has announced that people aged 18-49 will be expanded to receive additional doses of the Moderna next-generation bivalent vaccine. The interval between vaccinations should be at least 12 weeks from the last basal dose/basic booster dose or the previous booster dose. It is recommended that young people who need to return home during the Chinese New Year should get vaccinated as soon as possible to ensure the safety of themselves and their families.
Source:
COVID-19 Vaccine Introduction - Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare, Centers for Disease Control
“When should you get the next generation vaccine?” - Dr. Huang Xuan
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