The government of Taiwan on Monday (July 19) approved the use and production of Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp's Covid vaccine candidate, a significant step in the island's plans to develop its own vaccines to protect against the novel coronavirus.

Developing its own vaccine has been a major goal of Taiwan's government, though it also has ordered some 20 million shots from Moderna, AstraZeneca and the Covax global sharing scheme, Taiwan-based Medigen said. The health ministry said in clinical trials in Taiwan the antibodies created by Medigen's vaccine candidate have been proven to be "no worse than" those created by AstraZeneca vaccines, and that there were no major safety concerns. The ministry added that Medigen had to present a monthly report on safety for the vaccine candidate, MVC-COV1901, which is designed for people aged over 20, who will get two shots 28 days apart.

Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said that with the EUA approved, it would now take some time for the company to ramp up its production. "There should be a small amount of supply available in August," he added.

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