Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/04/2020
ByL: Chang Ming-hsuan and Matthew Mazzetta

Taipei, July 4 (CNA) Taiwan's former top disease control official this week called on the government to issue emergency use authorizations (EUAs) to speed up the development of COVID-19 vaccine candidates, saying plans to hold clinical trials before year-end are "simply too slow."

Taiwan needs to take steps to accelerate domestic development of a vaccine, because it may not have immediate access when one is discovered abroad, given the intensity of global demand, Su Ih-jen (蘇益仁), former director-general of the Bureau of Communicable Disease Control — the predecessor of the Centers for Disease Control — told CNA this week.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 100 COVID-19 vaccine candidates are currently in development worldwide, 18 of which had entered human trials as of July 2. The countries making the fastest progress — the United States, Europe and China — have said a vaccine could reach the market by the end of 2020.

In Taiwan, however, only two firms have submitted applications for clinical trials, while a third is expected to do in July, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
[FULL  STORY]