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Talks to produce foreign Covid-19 vaccines in Taiwan
Taiwan’s health minister, Chen Shih-chung, has confirmed that Taiwan is in talks with foreign companies to manufacture coronavirus vaccines on a contract basis. However, Chen is not providing any specific details.
According to the health minister, talks to produce vaccines developed by foreign companies in Taiwan are underway, but there is no guarantee the talks will succeed.
The health minister say success will depend on whether Taiwan has the technical capabilities and the production capacity necessary and the companies' own plans to sell and distribute their vaccines.
Although Chen has not said which companies’ officials are in talks with, local media reports have been claiming the discussions are being held between Taiwan's National Health Research Institutes and Moderna.
The National Health Research Institutes is refusing to confirm those reports, but is stressing that the “chances of success and of signing a deal are low” due to questions over the production capacity of local manufacturers.
