Taiwan likely to get Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines soon: health minister

Taipei, April 19 (CNA) Taiwan will likely procure Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines soon after having ironed out the details of a contract during the past few days, according to Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) Tuesday.

Speaking at a Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) press briefing, Chen said that talks on the procurement of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are still in progress, but certain issues that needed to be discussed, such as contract simplification, have been gradually resolved over the past two days.

Talks about the procurement are now in the final stages and after all the details are revised and finalized, a contract will likely be signed, Chen said.

Taiwan currently only has Moderna, AstraZeneca and Medigen COVID-19 vaccines as its Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines have run out.

Chen has also come under pressure to procure the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from Taiwanese parents, who are worried about their unvaccinated children amid a recent spike in Omicron cases.

However, when asked about the number of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to be purchased and if these could be issued to children, Chen did not answer the question directly and said it was still being decided.

On Sunday, Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6-11, setting it up to become the first COVID-19 vaccine in Taiwan available to children under the age of 12.

Speaking at the CECC press briefing that day, FDA Director-General Wu Shou-mei (吳秀梅) said a team of FDA experts had recommended the authorization, after determining that the vaccine met the necessary safety and efficacy requirements.

However, Kuomintang (KMT) Deputy Secretary-General Wang Yu-min (王育敏) said at a press conference at the party’s headquarters Tuesday that the main vaccine used internationally for children is the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and urged the government to procure an adequate amount so that parents can at least have two vaccines to choose from.

The KMT cited the possibility of more adverse reactions for children from using Moderna.

Experts have pointed out that the Moderna vaccine contains five times more mRNA than Pfizer’s — 50 micrograms per dose, compared to 10 mcg.

Countries like Japan, South Korea, and the United States, and the European Union only administer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to children, Wang said.

The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia offer both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for children, but Moderna is not as frequently used, Wang said.