A senior Washington government official said the United States will release a 2.5 million coronavirus vaccine on its way to Taiwan on Saturday, more than triple the previous shipment.
Washington originally promised Taiwan 750,000 doses of vaccine. The United States wants to increase its geopolitical influence in the world through vaccine diplomacy, and Joe Biden The US President is preparing to donate 80 million doses of vaccine worldwide.
China, which considers Taiwan a province of its own, has repeatedly offered shipments to manage the island after the number of infected people in the area that has so far escaped the epidemic started to increase recently. However, Taipei is concerned about the safety of Chinese vaccines.
A US official told Reuters there were no political or economic conditions attached to the shipment in Taiwan.
Taiwan is facing difficulties in sourcing. A deal between German biotech company BioNTech SE and Taiwan failed this year, due to pressure from Beijing. China has denied blocking Taipei’s purchases, saying the island’s leadership can buy vaccines at any time from Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group, which sells BioNTech vaccines in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
The US official, who made the statement, condemned Beijing for removing barriers to procurement in Taiwan for political reasons. Only about 6 percent of the island’s 23.5 million residents have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccination.
