President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should personally lead the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic so that personnel and resources can be made available quickly to those in need, New Power Party (NPP) lawmakers said in a statement yesterday.
NPP legislators Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智), Claire Wang (王婉諭) and Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) issued the statement as the nation grapples with a COVID-19 outbreak caused by multiple cluster infections that occurred early last month.
Hospitals, particularly those in Taipei and New Taipei City, have said that their personnel and resources have been stretched thin due to a surge in the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
“The current chain of command can no longer bear the heavy responsibility of fighting the war against the pandemic. In other countries, it is the president or prime minister who fully takes charge on the front line of the battle,” they said.
“President Tsai should assume command so that all personnel and resources can be quickly directed to people in need,” they added.
In the past, the private sector was allowed to procure vaccines directly from international pharmaceutical companies and donate them to the government, and the government offered assistance during procurement to make sure that the vaccines are safe, the party said.
Such cooperation today would not only serve as the best example of public-private partnership, but would also ensure the quality of vaccines, as well as the health and safety of the public, it added.
“Since last year, the government’s endeavors in purchasing vaccines have been blocked by political reasons. Should the government insist that it, rather than donors, sign contracts with pharmaceutical firms, it will only experience repeated setbacks,” the NPP said.
Tsai should welcome all efforts from the private sector to overcome political obstacles to secure vaccines, which should not include those produced in China, it said.
People who are inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines should be covered by the nation’s vaccine injury compensation system, regardless of whether they received vaccines purchased by the government or the private sector, it added.
The party also asked why the Ministry of Health and Welfare was in a hurry to sign contracts with local firms Medigen Vaccine Biologics and United Biomedical to preorder a total of 10 million vaccine doses, even though the vaccines have yet to complete phase 2 clinical trials.
The announcement has given people the impression that the government insists on buying domestic vaccines, regardless of the trial results, it said.
The ministry should explain to the public the grounds for its decision, the party said.
“We should not bet our lives on domestic vaccines with unverified trial results,” it said.
The government should focus on collaborating with the private sector to acquire vaccines that have been certified as safe to use, and then quickly administer them to the public, the party added.
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