The WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) and the UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool on Aug. 29 announced a licensing agreement with Taiwan’s Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp to make the company’s COVID-19 vaccine accessible worldwide to people in need.
This is the first time a Taiwanese vaccine manufacturer has used the WHO patent access model to offer its know-how for a COVID-19 vaccine to the world. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed his gratitude to Medigen for sharing its patent to support countries in fighting the disease.
Toxicology results, animal and clinical trial data, as well as production data, were required to enter the C-TAP pool, similar to how Taiwanese officials in 2021 assessed and granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for the product.
Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said that the WHO’s addition of Medigen’s vaccine, which has been administered more than 3 million times in seven countries, means that the global body has authorized and endorsed a Taiwan-made vaccine, and was an affirmation of the nation’s vaccine industry. This is a validation of Medigen after the harsh criticism it has endured from Taiwanese opposition parties over the past few years.
There are also lessons to learn about the restoration of justice for vaccine development and manufacturing in Taiwan.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, China weaponized vaccines to advance its geopolitical agenda and influence politics in Taiwan. Beijing not only barred vaccines produced by foreign manufacturers and limited its people to its domestic vaccines, it also sought to block Taiwan’s vaccine procurement, including by delaying delivery of an order for BioNTech vaccines. These actions aimed to inflict political damage on President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration while promoting Chinese-made vaccines to facilitate its “united front” work.
Ironically, despite surveys showing that more than 80 percent of Taiwanese were not willing to be inoculated with China-made vaccines, some opposition politicians, notably from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and pro-China media influencers badgered the government to buy Chinese vaccines, while lashing out at Taiwan’s domestically produced vaccine and stigmatizing efforts to foster an indigenous biotech industry.
International researchers have shown that Taiwan-made vaccines are effective against COVID-19. A transnational study published in a Swiss medical journal found that Medigen’s vaccine has an efficacy of 84 percent, far better than Chinese vaccines, which were rated only 65 percent effective.
While the Food and Drug Administration was criticized for granting Medigen an EUA based on immunobridging, many WHO-validated vaccines used the same standard to issue EUAs. Studies have also shown that Medigen’s protein subunit vaccine has fewer adverse reactions than mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
The Medigen story is a reminder that the scientific process should prevail over political mudslinging.
Political attacks have intensified in the run-up to the presidential and legislative elections in January, with slogans such as “Electing the Democratic Progressive Party will cause war” — even as China continues with its military posturing in the Taiwan Strait.
Just as collective immunity against a virus is required to protect public health when a pandemic hits, collective awareness and wisdom are required as the elections draw near to guard against disinformation and stigmatization, and protect Taiwan’s democracy and sovereignty.
To The Honorable Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜): We would like to extend our sincerest regards to you for representing Taiwan at the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on Monday. The Taiwanese-American community was delighted to see that Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan speaker not only received an invitation to attend the event, but successfully made the trip to the US. We sincerely hope that you took this rare opportunity to share Taiwan’s achievements in freedom, democracy and economic development with delegations from other countries. In recent years, Taiwan’s economic growth and world-leading technology industry have been a source of pride for Taiwanese-Americans.
Next week, the nation is to celebrate the Lunar New Year break. Unfortunately, cold winds are a-blowing, literally and figuratively. The Central Weather Administration has warned of an approaching cold air mass, while obstinate winds of chaos eddy around the Legislative Yuan. English theologian Thomas Fuller optimistically pointed out in 1650 that “it’s always darkest before the dawn.” We could paraphrase by saying the coldest days are just before the renewed hope of spring. However, one must temper any optimism about the damage being done in the legislature by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), under
To our readers: Due to the Lunar New Year holiday, from Sunday, Jan. 26, through Sunday, Feb. 2, the Taipei Times will have a reduced format without our regular editorials and opinion pieces. From Tuesday to Saturday the paper will not be delivered to subscribers, but will be available for purchase at convenience stores. Subscribers will receive the editions they missed once normal distribution resumes on Sunday, Feb. 2. The paper returns to its usual format on Monday, Feb. 3, when our regular editorials and opinion pieces will also be resumed.
This year would mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the India Taipei Association (ITA) in Taipei and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in New Delhi. From the vision of “Look East” in the 1990s, India’s policy has evolved into a resolute “Act East,” which complements Taiwan’s “New Southbound Policy.” In these three decades, India and Taiwan have forged a rare partnership — one rooted in shared democratic values, a commitment to openness and pluralism, and clear complementarities in trade and technology. The government of India has rolled out the red carpet for Taiwanese investors with attractive financial incentives
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