-
Advertisement
Coronavirus pandemic
ChinaScience

Taiwan offered another 5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses by Buddhist group

  • Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation says it will buy doses from BioNTech, but it is unclear whether it will bypass Fosun, the regional distributor
  • Island extends soft lockdown for two more weeks after recording 104 new infections and 24 deaths

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
48
Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation said it was trying to import vaccines from BioNTech. Photo: dpa
Lawrence Chung
A major Buddhist group in Taiwan is set to follow two tech firms by donating Covid-19 vaccines to the island’s government, which is struggling to secure enough shots amid an ongoing outbreak.

The move by the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation came as Taiwan extended its soft lockdown for two more weeks to July 12 after it recorded 104 new infections and 24 deaths on Wednesday.

It also came after Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of Foxconn, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chip maker, announced plans to buy 5 million doses each from German vaccine maker BioNTech.
Advertisement

The foundation, too, plans to buy 5 million doses from BioNTech for donation, its chief executive officer Yen Bo-wen said on Wednesday.

02:34

All eyes on Taiwan’s home-grown vaccines as 2 local developers await emergency approval

All eyes on Taiwan’s home-grown vaccines as 2 local developers await emergency approval

“Through the joint efforts of foundation members at home and abroad, experts, scholars as well as various channels, we have obtained initial progress in securing the vaccine source for the purchase of 5 million doses of BioNTech vaccine and have prepared the necessary documents for submission to the government for the import of the vaccine,” Yen said.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x