The only COVID-19 vaccine brands you can find in Taiwan right now are Moderna and AstraZeneca. That’s because the government has had a hard time securing Pfizer doses from German manufacturer BioNTech. But after a press release on Sunday, that all looks set to change, thanks to help from two of Taiwan’s biggest corporations.
Wearing a visor and mask, Foxconn founder Terry Gou meets with President Tsai Ing-wen in June to discuss his plans for a vaccine donation to Taiwan. A month later, and it seems those plans are coming to fruition.
Foxconn and semiconductor giant TSMC said on Sunday they have signed deals for a total of 10 million BioNTech vaccine doses. BioNTech CEO Uğur Şahin said in a statement on Monday, “It has always been our goal to provide access to a well-tolerated and effective vaccine for as many people as possible worldwide. BioNTech is glad to be able to also supply the Taiwanese people with vaccines manufactured in the European Union.”
And details of the price per dose have also come to light. Reports say Taiwan’s TTY Biopharm Company was offered US$31-32 last year, while Taiwan’s health ministry discussed a price of $45 a dose. Foxconn and TSMC, however, say they have a deal for US$30 plus an extra US$3 per dose for storage fees. For 5 million doses, that means each company will pay US$165 million.
The vaccine doses will have special labels to differentiate them from the BioNTech vaccines produced in China. That’s in order to meet Taiwan government demands.
Now, we just have to sit and wait. It will take six to eight weeks to get the doses ready, so they should arrive via DHL in September or October. The German manufacturers are handling delivery, so they should not need a plane from Taiwan.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung says you can store the vaccine at -70 degrees Celsius for six months. Authorities now say you can keep it at two to eight degrees for 30 days, up from the original recommendation of only five days.
That’s according to new advice from the US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency. And it’s good news for Taiwan, since only one company in the country has the right equipment for ultra-cold storage.
With millions more doses on the horizon, things are looking rosy for Taiwan’s race to get vaccinated.