The Taipei City Government is considering buying COVID-19 vaccines and is to meet within a week to discuss the issue, it said yesterday.
Although the central government has nominally obtained 75 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, either through purchase agreements or donations, only 9.5 million doses have arrived in Taiwan, Taipei Deputy Mayor Tsai Ping-kun (蔡炳坤) said.
The city government is considering purchasing its own supply of vaccines, as it might need to provide residents with booster shots to better protect them against SARS-CoV-2 variants, Tsai said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Such an acquisition would cost at least NT$6 billion (US$215.7 million), he said.
If the Taipei City Government decides to buy vaccines, it — and subsequent matters such as the number of doses needed — would be deliberated and ratified by the city council, he added.
The city government must also consider the efficacy of a booster shot and a potential backlash from residents should the central government seek to expropriate any vaccines the city purchased with its own funds, Tsai said.
The Taipei City Government would meet within a week and invite experts to assess the situation, he said, adding that the assessment would be used to make a final decision.
Last month, local media reported that the city government could acquire vaccines through collaboration with a large hospital in central Taiwan facilitated by Tsai; by purchasing Novavax COVID-19 vaccines, which would be facilitated by Taiwan People’s Party member Chou Chung-chi (周鐘麒); or through collaborations with pharmaceutical companies of a certain size and the Taipei Department of Health.
Tsai said that the city government could obtain vaccines through one of those methods, but that funding and other issues must be dealt with first.
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