Focus Taiwan
Date: 11/20/2020
By: Chang Ming-hsuan and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Nov. 20 (CNA) Taiwan could buy the COVID-19 vaccine Oxford University is developing with British drugmaker AstraZeneca, a second vaccine showing promising results that the nation will be able to acquire through the COVAX allocation platform, a Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) official said Friday.

According to foreign wire reports, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine shows an "encouraging" immune response in older adults, and 99 percent of the participants in the mid-term clinical trial developed antibodies after taking the shots.

The vaccine shows a strong immune response in individuals in their 60s and 70s, raising hopes that it can protect age groups most at risk from the virus, the BBC reported Thursday.

Asked if Taiwan can buy the vaccine, CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said the center started acquisition negotiations for the vaccine in August and September, but he declined to provide any further details.    [FULL  STORY]