Taiwan Receives 30,000 Moderna Doses Donated by Czech Republic

Taiwan on Sunday received 30,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine donated by the Czech Republic when a flight from Istanbul touched down at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5:49 p.m.

The donation was announced by the Czech government on July 26 as part of the warming relations between Prague and Taipei.

The shipment was made from Prague through Turkey through the efforts of the Czech Republic’s health ministry and Taiwan’s representative office there, Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung, said Sunday.

After arriving in Taiwan, the vaccines were unloaded and transported to a cold storage logistics center at the Taoyuan airport for inspection, according to Chen.

With COVID-19 vaccines in short supply around the world, the Czech Republic’s generous donation will be of great help to Taiwan in containing the virus, Chen said.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s landmark skyscraper Taipei 101 will flash messages of thanks and appreciation to the Czech Republic, such as “Democratic partners,” “Looking out for each other,” from 6:30-10:00 p.m.

To date, Taiwan has obtained over 10.67 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from abroad, of which roughly 5.9 million have been donated by the United States, Japan, and Lithuania as Taiwan’s government has struggled to get delivery of vaccines it ordered.

To date, 42.55 percent of Taiwan’s 23.5 million population has received a first jab, with only 3.71 percent fully vaccinated, according to CECC data.