Taiwan continues to seek COVID-19 vaccine-related cooperation opportunities with other democracies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, although it did not confirm media reports that Poland might donate vaccines to the nation.
The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) earlier in the day cited diplomatic sources as saying that Poland was planning to sell or donate millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Following negotiations among diplomatic personnel, Poland would evaluate the possibility of donating vaccines to Taiwan, the Liberty Times reported.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
If a deal is confirmed, Poland would be the fourth European nation to share vaccines with Taiwan, following Lithuania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
The US and Japan have also donated millions of vaccine doses to Taiwan.
A flight carrying 20,000 AstraZeneca doses donated by Lithuania touched down in Taiwan on Saturday — two months earlier than had been estimated, with the ministry attributing the early arrival to the goodwill and administrative efficiency of Vilnius.
Slovakia last month said it would donate 10,000 doses to Taiwan through the European Civil Protection Mechanism, while the Czech Republic also pledged to donate 30,000 doses to Taiwan.
The vaccine brands of each package are not yet known.
The ministry neither confirmed nor denied the Liberty Times report.
The ministry continues to seek opportunities to cooperate on COVID-19 vaccine-related issues with like-minded partners, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement.
Cooperation possibilities include procurement, borrowing, donations or transfers of vaccines, as well as pushing global distribution platform COVAX and manufacturers that have received orders to expedite delivery, among other bilateral or multilateral means, Ou said.
The US, Japan, Lithuania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have donated or offered to donate vaccines to Taiwan, showing a virtuous cycle among like-minded partners, she said.
The ministry is glad to see international partners offer help, whether by donating or selling vaccines, and it would make an announcement if any deal is confirmed, Ou said.
As of 10am yesterday, about 8 million of Taiwan’s 23.5 million people had received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 418,064 had received two, Central Epidemic Command Center data showed.
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