[ad_1]
Foxconn and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) of Taiwan announced Monday that they have agreed to purchase 10 million doses German BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The total cost of the transaction is estimated to be around $ 350 million.
The government of Taiwan has tried for months to buy the vaccine directly from BioNTech. The Taiwanese government has criticized mainland China for blocking a deal it was supposed to sign with the company earlier this year.
China denies having blocked the sale of vaccines. Mainland China claims the autonomous island as its own territory.
BioNTech’s mainland China sales agent Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group said on Sunday that an agreement had been signed. But he did not specify when the vaccines would be provided.
Terry Gou is the president of Foxconn. Gou wrote on his Facebook page that he was grateful the deal was made. Foxconn and TSMC will each purchase 5 million doses. Foxconn will purchase its vaccines through the YongLin Foundation. The doses will be handed over to the government, which will then supply them to the medical services.
Gou said: “But we can’t Relax, because we will continue to work hard for delivery time and quantity. “
The government of Taiwan has agreed to allow tech companies to trade in vaccines due to public pressure on its vaccine program.
The Taiwanese cabinet said the vaccines would be given free to the government.
Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng said BioNTech signed the contract on Sunday. He said the government was already looking to buy more AstraZeneca and Moderna. Taiwan wants to buy 15 million “new generation” vaccines from Moderna for 2022 and 2023.
The United States and Japan together donated nearly 5 million doses to the island to help speed up vaccinations.
Vaccine drama in Taiwan
The issue of BioNTech vaccines has aroused the interest of the population and the media in Taiwan. The coronavirus epidemic in Taiwan is largely under control. But only about a tenth of its 23.5 million inhabitants received at least one shoot of a two-dose vaccine.
TSMC and Foxconn are both major suppliers to the US computer company Apple. Taiwanese companies said in a joint statement that they did not expect the first BioNTech vaccines to arrive until the end of September. They will come directly from Germany.
Gou said the Beijing government had not affected the talks.
BioNTech also confirmed the deal but used the term “Taiwan region”, using wording requested by the Chinese government. This wording does not suggest that the island is a separate country.
A person familiar with the talks told Reuters that TSMC’s involvement and unconditional donations of US and Japanese vaccines have made it difficult for China to stop the deal.
I am Jill Robbins.
Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee wrote this story for Reuters. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learn English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.
________________________________________________________________
Words in this story
dose – nm the amount of a medicine, medication or vitamin that is taken at one time
Relax –V. allow something to weaken, reduce attention
delivery -not. action of bringing something to a person or place
shoot – not. an act of putting something (like a medicine or vaccine) into the body with a needle
What do you think of this action from tech companies? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the comments section.
[ad_2]
Source link