Coronavirus: Taiwan expects to roll out locally made vaccines by end of July
- President Tsai Ing-wen makes announcement as the island faces an outbreak of cases
- She says phase 2 trials have nearly been completed and calls for calm over community transmission
“The first wave of locally developed vaccines is expected to be ready for supply at the end of July,” she said, without giving details on how many vaccines would be available or which ones.
Two experimental vaccines developed by Taiwanese companies – Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corporation and United Biomedical – are in phase 2 trials, both involving more than 4,000 volunteers.
Both companies are expected to apply for “emergency use authorisation” in June, according to local media reports.
A Medigen Vaccine Biologics spokesman said last month that antibody tests had indicated their candidate appeared to be effective in protecting against the UK variant while it was slightly less effective against the South African variant, according to a Taiwan News report.