As campaigning for the local elections reach their final stage, the candidates for the Chinese Nationalist Party and the Taiwan People’s Party, as well as independent Taipei mayoral candidate Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), have launched relentless attacks on Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp.
Those who do not know better might be led to believe that Medigen was an unethical pharmaceutical company, and the firm’s COVID-19 vaccines worthless.
As one who has received the vaccine in question and made plans to visit my family in Japan next month, I find it unfair for them to make such remarks.
As an asthma patient in the ninth priority group, if I catch the flu and it triggers an asthma attack, I would have coughing fits for a week at a minimum.
Based on my experiences of getting flu vaccines and my trust in the protein subunit COVID-19 vaccine, I chose to go for Medigen as my third COVID-19 vaccine dose at the end of last year.
Unfortunately, I happened to contract the SARS-CoV-2 virus a few days ago. Initially, I thought I would have a serious asthma attack, but to my surprise, I recovered after three days of coughing. I did not lose my sense of smell and taste, and the symptoms were milder than past flus.
After self-quarantining, I took a rapid test. This time it showed a single line, without even a faint trace of a second one. At my appointment, the doctor also deemed that I was recovering well. I think it is safe to say I emerged from this century’s pandemic relatively unscathed.
As the ability to produce vaccines has strategic importance, many nations find it enviable that Taiwan has developed its own COVID-19 vaccine.
However, some cynics seem bent on seeing Taiwan fail.
From the OBI Pharma controversy — which involved potential insider trading due to a failed trial of a new cancer drug — to the recent Medigen vaccines, whenever Taiwan’s biotechnology makes a breakthrough, it always invites political criticism.
It is as if politicians want to cut down Taiwan’s newly won reputation in the global bioscience industry.
There are five authorized COVID-19 vaccines in Taiwan for people to choose from, along with Moderna’s second-generation Spikevax. Grass is not necessarily greener on the other side and I did not regret my choice of going for Medigen. As a relatively safe vaccine that has few side effects, it has been an invaluable option for someone like me in a high-risk group.
As a result, even if I have to get an extra PCR test certificate to enter Japan, I do not feel troubled at all.
Furthermore, I do not plan on letting Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp pay, after it has already suffered far too many wrongs in this campaign.
As a first-hand witness to Medigen’s protection, I am proud to be Medigen vaccinated. Medigen is truly the pride of Taiwan.
Tseng Wen-hsing
Taipei
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