Taipei claims millions of Covid-19 shots are on the way as government extends virus-related restrictions

Taiwan’s health minister has promised that more vaccines are on the way amid pressure to accept Chinese-made shots, as domestic infections spike and the nation’s vaccination rate remains at around 1%.

Speaking on Tuesday, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said that infection rates across the country had fallen since last Monday but positivity rates were still high. The minister said that there were “hidden spreaders” in the community and this was impacting the effectiveness of government interventions. 

“The worry is that...we are not able to control the hidden cases during this time period, which could lead to a worsening pandemic,” Chen said, adding that authorities are scrambling to find 300 people who tested positive for the virus in and around the capital.

Amid recent pressure to accept vaccines from China to alleviate the impact of the spike in infections which has been exacerbated by low vaccination rates, Chen promised that there were more shots on the way to Taiwan. 

He said that two million doses would arrive before the end of June and a further 10 million by the end of August. In a two-shot regimen this would be enough to inoculate six million of the country’s 23 million population. He did not elaborate, except noting that the numbers included domestically developed vaccines.

The minister made no reference to China’s offer to provide vaccines to the island nation, which Beijing claims is an integral part of its country.

One former opposition leader, Hung Hsiu-chu, has called on the island’s president to accept Chinese vaccines as soon as possible, saying “the real enemy is the virus, not the mainland.” Taiwan has so far only received 700,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. 

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