Brushing aside the safety concerns and the criticism that the domestically made COVID-19 vaccine was approved in a rush in Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen led the way to take the shot.
This came after Health ministry last month approved the emergency use of Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp’s COVID-19 vaccine emphasizing on self-sufficiency following delays in vaccine deliveries from global drug companies to Taiwan and many other countries.
Demonstrating her confidence in the vaccine, Tsai, who had held off using vaccines from Moderna Inc or AstraZeneca Plc, the current mainstay of Taiwan’s vaccination program, received her Medigen shot at a hospital in central Taipei. She chatted to medical workers as they prepared her shot and the process was broadcast live on her Facebook page as she gave a short response of “no” to a question from reporters about whether she was nervous.
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Over 700,000 people have signed up so far to receive the Medigen vaccine whose second shot is required 28 days after the first one.
She rejected claims of the vaccine being either unsafe or that it has been sent to market with undue haste stressing it is effective and well tested.
The vaccine has been developed in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health in the United States, and the government has ordered an initial 5 million doses.
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Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang, or KMT, has mounted a fierce campaign against the shot, with one of its former vice chairmen, Hau Lung-bin, filing a lawsuit to block Medigen’s authorization. The court rejected the plea last week.
The party said Medigen’s approval has been rushed. Ho Chih-yung, deputy head of the KMT’s international department, said the Taiwanese people should not serve as white rats in a laboratory.
Nearly 40 percent of Taiwan’s 23.5 million people have received at least 1 shot of either of the 2-dose AstraZeneca or Moderna vaccine, but less than 5 percent are fully vaccinated. (AW)
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