Terry Gou, the founder of major Apple Inc supplier Foxconn, has requested that vaccine maker BioNTech SE reserve an order of 30 million units of its coronavirus vaccine for Taiwan. According to Gou, Taiwan is very keen to receive vaccination doses from BioNTech, jointly developed with Pfizer. This comes after the South East Asian nation endured a months-long struggle to obtain the vaccine, to no avail.
The unsuccessful attempt to obtain the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been shrouded by accusations coming out of Taipei concerning China’s alleged political tampering in the process. Beijing continues to claim Taiwan as Chinese territory.
Following its own unsuccessful attempts at acquiring the vaccine, the Taiwanese government handed over negotiation responsibilities to Foxconn and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd.
After sealing a $350 million deal for 10 million shots, Gou explained via Facebook that he has promised the delivery of between 8 and 9 million doses this year, with the first shots expected to arrive in September.
Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang thanked Gou for his work, explaining: “As long as there is an epidemic prevention need, we will make advanced preparations.” Taiwan has already placed an order for second generation vaccines from Moderna Inc.
