Coronavirus: US to give Taiwan an additional 1.5 million vaccine doses

The new delivery of Moderna doses will depart from Kentucky, on Sunday aboard a flight belonging to Taiwan’s China Airlines

Japan, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Lithuania also have donated Covid-19 vaccines to Taiwan

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People rest after receiving a Moderna vaccine dose in Taipei City. File photo: Reuters

Published: 11:08pm, 31 Oct 2021Updated: 11:46pm, 31 Oct 2021

The United States is delivering an additional 1.5 million coronavirus vaccine doses to Taiwan, a senior US administration official told Reuters, increasing to 4 million the total number of shots donated by Washington to the self-ruled island, which is under increasing pressure from China.

The new delivery of Moderna doses will depart from Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday aboard a flight belonging to Taiwan’s China Airlines, the official said.

“Our vaccines do not come with strings attached” and were not donated to “secure favours or extract concessions,” the Biden administration official said, in an apparent reference to criticism that Beijing is trying to strengthen its geopolitical clout through so-called vaccine diplomacy.

The official added that Taiwan was a “vital partner” on global health issues.

The US gave 2.5 million doses to the island claimed by China in June, making it among the first international recipients of US vaccines.

At the time, US officials said China was attempting to block vaccine purchases by Taiwan for political reasons, which Beijing denied.

Japan, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Lithuania also have donated Covid-19 vaccines to Taiwan, where about 70 per cent of the population has received at least one dose, according to Taiwan media. Only about 30 per cent of the country’s 24 million people have been fully vaccinated.

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