TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control (CDC, 疾管署) announced on Thursday (July 4) that they plan to convene an "Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices" (ACIP, 傳染病防治諮詢會預防接種組) next week to discuss which COVID-19 variant vaccine to purchase and whether the vaccination schedule will be affected. The new COVID-19 vaccine was initially set to launch on Oct. 1, but the vaccine strain has yet to be selected.
The CDC has monitored a rise in local and imported COVID-19 cases over the past four weeks. The JN.1 variant accounts for 47% of local and 38% of imported cases. The KP.2 variant has slightly increased, making up 20% of local cases and 25% of imported cases. Recently, the LB.1 variant has also rapidly increased, representing 14% of local and 9% of imported cases.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently changed its recommendation for the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine strain, advising manufacturers to update the new vaccine to target the KP.2 variant if feasible. In response, Novavax stated that they are already manufacturing the JN.1 variant vaccine and cannot produce another strain-specific vaccine this fall. In contrast, Moderna said they would have the updated vaccine ready for the fall vaccination campaign.
CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) mentioned that most countries have not yet decided on the vaccine strain. The ACIP, which convened the previous day, discussed the safety and efficacy of several vaccine strains but has yet to make a recommendation. They plan to decide which strain to purchase as early as next week.
Taiwan's CDC originally planned to administer the COVID-19 vaccine alongside the flu vaccine starting Oct. 1. Choosing the JN.1 strain could allow the vaccination to proceed as scheduled, while selecting the newer KP.2 strain might delay the rollout.
