Sat, Jun 19, 2021 page8

• Vaccine options need expansion

  • By Lee Yung-teng 李永騰
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  On June 4, 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Japanese government arrived in Taiwan. One day earlier, the US government announced a plan to donate 80 million doses globally by the end of the month, 7 million of which have been allocated to more than a dozen Asian countries, including Taiwan.

  Given Taiwan’s urgent need for vaccines, these donations are “a timely rain after a long drought,” as the Chinese saying goes. Many Taiwanese were quick to express their sincere appreciation to the two countries.

  At the time of writing, Taiwan had obtained 2.12 million COVID-19 vaccine doses. If 60 percent of the population must be administered two shots to achieve herd immunity, that would require at least 27.6 million doses. This means that Taiwan has received less than 10 percent of its total requirement. This is not enough, so now the public seems to have a high expectation that vaccines will be procured by the private sector.

  In response to Hon Hai Group founder Terry Gou’s (郭台銘) application earlier this month to import COVID-19 vaccines, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) — who also heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) — said that the center had been in contact and was discussing solutions. A week later, the ministry confirmed that it would grant emergency use authorizations for several foreign vaccines, clearing the way for their importation.

  To help relieve the domestic vaccine shortage, some local businesses and religious groups have expressed willingness to obtain and donate COVID-19 vaccines. Among these organizations, the status of the purchases by Hon Hai Group’s Yonglin Foundation, the Fo Guang Shan Monastery and the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation have attracted the most attention.

  The Philippines could set an example for Taiwan. Since late March, all Filipino businesses have been granted permission to directly procure COVID-19 vaccines from foreign pharmaceutical companies, but the contract for each deal must be jointly signed by three parties: the buyer, the seller and the Philippine government. With this approach, Filipino tycoon Enrique Razon Jr secured 20 million doses of the Moderna vaccine from the US.

  Similarly, Gou has proposed that a deal be jointly signed by his Yonglin Foundation, Germany-based BioNTech and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Co. Since this model works for the Philippines, Taiwan should not give up these types of opportunities.

  There are two main reasons for the public pinning its hopes on private efforts to obtain vaccines.

  First, based on the CECC’s procurement plan, Taiwan has only received 1.96 million AstraZeneca doses and 150,000 Moderna doses at the time of this writing, and is hoping to boost total supply to 30 million doses by the end of August. That will not alleviate the critical situation for 23 million Taiwanese today.

  The number of confirmed cases remains high, the death toll continues to increase, and people are afraid every time they go outside. Businesses cannot operate, people cannot go to work as normal, and the end of the level 3 alert is nowhere in sight.

  At this critical time, if the private sector is willing to purchase and donate vaccines to the government, it would bring a glimpse of hope to the public and help the government during the deployment period. This would serve as a turning point that allows the public and private sectors to work hand-in-hand.

  The second reason is that the public prefers the leading US and European COVID-19 vaccine brands: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. However, the government’s main procurement plan is based on the purchase of 10 million AstraZeneca doses and 10 million doses of locally produced vaccines.

  In other words, there is a gap between what people want and what they will get. If private businesses and religious groups are able to purchase and donate the leading US and European vaccines, they would help provide more options. No wonder the public has high hopes for the private sector proposals.

  COVID-19 vaccines are a

  strategic national security resource. If locally made vaccines are proven to be effective, that would be great news for the development of Taiwan’s vaccine industry.

  Still, the government purchased a total of 10 million doses from two local pharmaceutical companies and released the schedule for vaccinations even before the completion of phase 2 clinical trials, which could expose people to unknown risks. The thinking should be simple: offer safe and effective vaccines.

  A joint effort between business and government to procure COVID-19 vaccines would reach beyond the pan-blue and pan-green camps, and would be proof of the great care and positive energy found in Taiwanese society. It would also display the beauty of the Taiwanese spirit to the world. Human life is invaluable, and the nation’s disease prevention efforts tolerate no delay.

  The more vaccines that are imported and the faster they arrive, the better. All that is needed is for the government to turn passive review to active assistance and cooperate with the private sector in the fight for vaccines.

  That would give the government a chance to fulfill its plan of providing 1 million vaccine shots to the public per week as scheduled, promptly reach its goal of herd immunity, and allow people to resume their normal daily lives.

  Lee Yung-teng is a professor of public administration at National Open University.

  Translated by Eddy Chang
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