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(Adds comment from Foxconn founder's charity)
By Yimou Lee
TAIPEI, May 28 (Reuters) - Taiwan aims to cover 60% of its
population with at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine by
October, the health minister said on Friday, adding that the
island's infection rate was not good, despite its pandemic
curbs.
Battling a spike in domestic cases, Taiwan announced 555 new
infections on Friday, after months in which the virus was well
under control, and has called its second highest alert to limit
gatherings and shut entertainment venues.
"If we turn on all the firepower for vaccination, the
coverage for the first shot could reach 60%," Health Minister
Chen Shih-chung told a daily news briefing.
Authorities will use a combination of imported and home-made
vaccines to reach that fraction of a population of more than 23
million by the end of October, he said, adding that even
coverage of 40% would be effective to curb the outbreak.
Taiwan has received fewer than one million doses of nearly
30 million on order, as global supply shortages constrict
vaccine deliveries. It has also blamed China for blocking a deal
for vaccines from Germany's BioNTech SE.
With just about 1% of its population vaccinated, Taiwan is
seeking urgent help from allies, such as the United States, to
secure vaccines as domestic criticism mounts over the shortfall.
After pressure from some opposition politicians, Chen said
local governments and companies would be able to import vaccines
directly, but had to follow strict protocols including doing it
through pharmaceutical companies.
The charity of billionaire Terry Gou, founder of Apple Inc
supplier Foxconn, said it was preparing to apply for
permission to be able to import vaccines, but called on the
government to provide clarity on the rules.
Positive cases are currently heavily concentrated in the
capital, Taipei, and its neighbouring city.
Chen said current curbs, such as limits on gatherings, were
effective, but the rise in new infections remained high.
"This is not a very good situation...We are not seeing a
downward trend," Chen said, referring to daily new infections
that have hovered above 400 in the past week.
"There are hidden patients in the community," he added. "We
need to speed up rapid tests in hot spots."
Japan held out the prospect of timely help, saying it would
consider sharing its vaccine doses with other countries after a
ruling party panel urged that a portion of its AstraZeneca Plc
stocks be provided to Taiwan.
The first 150,000 doses of more than 5 million ordered from
Moderna Inc arrived in Taiwan late afternoon on Friday.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee; Editing by Ben Blanchard, Clarence
Fernandez, William Maclean)
