Taiwan rolls out its first indigenously made COVID-19 vaccine
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China’s health officials on Monday said there were no new locally transmitted Covid cases for the first time since July, days after it reported a cluster of local outbreaks among airport cleaning staff in the eastern city of Nanjing
Taiwan on Monday rolled out its first domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine amid criticisms from the medical fraternity that the jab was given emergency approval hastily.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen received her first dose, which was made by Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp, at a gymnasium at National Taiwan University in Taipei.
The whole process was broadcast live on the President’s Facebook page where she was seen chatting with medical workers as they prepared the shot.
When asked by one of the reporters whether she was nervous taking the first jab, Tsai replied “no”.
“It doesn't hurt, I’m in good spirits, and I'm going to continue working for the day,” she later wrote on Facebook.
Last month, the health ministry approved the emergency use of Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp’s (6547.TWO) COVID-19 vaccine, after delays in vaccine deliveries from global drug companies.
The recombinant protein vaccine has been developed in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health in the United States, and the government has ordered 5 million doses for now.
The medical fraternity has been apprehensive about the vaccine rollout as it has yet to finish clinical trials and no efficacy data is available, reports Reuters.
However, the government, citing a study, has claimed that the antibodies created by the indigenously made shot are “no worse than” those created by AstraZeneca's vaccine.
Meanwhile, China’s health officials on Monday said there were no new locally transmitted COVID cases for the first time since July, days after it reported a cluster of local outbreaks among airport cleaning staff in the eastern city of Nanjing.
The country has reported 21 imported cases and zero locally transmitted symptomatic infections, the first time since July 16. It has also reported 16 asymptomatic cases, all of which were imported too, China’s National Health Commission said.
(With inputs from agencies)