TAIPEI — Germany’s top diplomat in Taipei said his government has been helping in talks between Taiwan and drugmaker BioNTech SE to supply COVID-19 vaccines, after Taiwan said a deal fell apart earlier this year due to Chinese “intervention”. Prinz noted Germany’s donations to the COVAX global vaccine sharing scheme for lower-income countries, through which Taiwan has already received AstraZeneca Plc shots. “I hope that there will be enough vaccines from different brands, including BioNTech, imported into Taiwan as soon as possible.”Taiwan Health Minister Chen Shih-chung, speaking at his daily news conference, expressed thanks to Germany for “giving us a lot of assistance” in efforts to buy the BioNTech vaccine. Germany, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan and only recognizes the government in Beijing. Taiwan responded by saying it was asking for Germany’s help in securing COVID-19 vaccines.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer June 02, 2021 06:45 UTC