Taiwan plans to join WHO's COVAX vaccine programme, discussing with lawyers

Taiwan on September 11 said that it plans to become part of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) COVAX plan, which will provide equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines once available. Taiwan's health minister Chen Shih-Chung on Saturday told reporters during a press conference that the government is in talks with lawyers to discuss signing into the UN health agency's scheme. Chen Shih-Chung said that Taiwan is developing its own vaccine, a process that he claims is going smoothly. 

Read: US Health Secretary Alex Azar To Meet Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen During His Visit

What is COVAX?

COVAX is part of the WHO's Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, which was launched in April by the global health body in response to the pandemic. COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and WHO with an aim of fast-tracking the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

Read: US Health Chief To Visit Taiwan, A COVID-19 Success Story

Some countries have signed their own bilateral deals with pharmaceutical companies to secure millions of doses of vaccines and have refused to become a part of COVAX. These countries include the United States, which in July this year announced its withdrawal from WHO after accusing it of mismanaging the pandemic and siding with the Chinese Communist Party.

Read: Taiwan Provisionally Approves Use Of Dexamethasone For COVID-19 Treatment

Taiwan is not part of the WHO as China claims it as its own territory. But WHO had earlier said that it will allow Taiwan to get access to all means needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Taiwan has so far handled the COVID-19 outbreak in the country quite effectively reporting less than 500 cases and just seven deaths. 

Read: Taiwan Airport Offers 'fake Flights' For People Missing Air Travel Amid COVID-19 Lockdown