The Taipei City Government is considering raising NT$8 billion (US$285.2 million) to purchase a third dose of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 variants, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said on Sunday on the political talk show Taiwan Apocalypse (台灣啟示錄).
“Right now, the priority for Taiwan is for everyone to get their first two shots,” but the city should also look into procuring enough vaccines for a third shot, which might be necessary to deal with SARS-CoV-2 variants, he said.
Asked to elaborate, Ko yesterday said that the city government’s annual budget would not be approved until the end of the year.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“However, we should start thinking about it now. We will continue to look at the situation over the next six months” to decide whether Taipei needs to prepare vaccines on its own, he told reporters.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) yesterday expressed his support for the idea and said the KMT would work with Ko to speak with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) about the issue.
The government should “not stand in the way,” he added.
“Ko’s thinking on the matter reflects how everyone feels — that Taiwan does not have enough vaccines, and the supply is unstable. Everyone is in consensus on this,” Chiang said. “The question is whether we can get [President] Tsai on board.”
Saying the central government had previously obstructed local governments’ efforts to procure vaccines on their own, Chiang said he hoped the government would not stop Ko from procuring vaccines for third doses.
KMT Taipei City Councilor Wang Hsin-yi (王欣儀) said that she and other KMT councilors had in May called for Taipei to procure vaccines on its own, which she said reflected the will of the city’s residents and would protect their health and safety.
Wang said she hoped Ko would go ahead and purchase vaccines as soon as possible.
KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) also expressed his support, saying that Taiwan lags behind other countries that have already administered two doses to the majority of their populations.
Taiwan should follow other countries, which are mulling administering third doses to help combat SARS-CoV-2 variants, he said.
“Taipei was one of the hardest-hit areas in the nation during this recent outbreak, yet we are unable to reach a safe level of vaccination,” he said. “Giving the city the funds to procure more vaccines would be less costly than enduring the economic impact of an outbreak.”
The government should put politics aside and let local governments, individuals and organizations procure more vaccines, he said.
Asked whether he agreed with Ko on the procurement of vaccines for a third dose, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said that he had made such a call three weeks ago, urging the central government to prepare to let the public receive a third dose.
The issue had first come to his attention when the first cases of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 appeared in Taiwan, he said.
Additional reporting by Lai Hsiao-tung
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