Journal of the Formosan Medical Association (Jan 2024)

Achievements of COVID-19 vaccination programs: Taiwanese perspective

  • Wang-Huei Sheng,
  • Szu-Min Hsieh,
  • Shan-Chwen Chang

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 123
pp. S70 – S76

Abstract

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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a global health crisis. The specific characteristics of aerosol transmission in the latent period and the contagiousness of SARS-CoV-2 lead to rapid spread of infection in the community. Vaccination is the most effective method for preventing infection and severe outcomes. As of December 1, 2022, 88% of the Taiwanese population had received at least two doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Heterologous vaccination with ChAdOx1–mRNA-based or ChAdOx1–protein-based vaccines has been found to elicit higher immunogenicity than homologous vaccination with ChAdOx1–ChAdOx1 vaccines. A longitudinal cohort study revealed that 8–12-week intervals between the two heterologous vaccine doses of the primary series led to good immunogenicity and that the vaccines were safe. A third booster dose of mRNA vaccine is being encouraged to evoke effective immune responses against variants of concern. A novel domestic recombinant protein subunit vaccine (MVC-COV1901) was manufactured and authorized for emergency use in Taiwan. It has shown a good safety profile, with promising neutralizing antibody titers against SARS-CoV-2. Given the global pandemic due to emerging novel variants of SARS-CoV-2, booster COVID-19 vaccines and appropriate intervals between booster doses need to be investigated.

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