PREXY SAYS TAIWAN’S COVID-19 VACCINE READY BY JULY 2021

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said late on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, that her government hopes to be able to provide the first domestically-developed vaccine against the COVID-19 virus by the end of July.

After visiting the Central Epidemic Command Center, which has jurisdiction over coronavirus control, Tsai said vaccine development is in the final stages of clinical trials and that "the government will check quality and safety," Kyodo News reported.

Taiwan is battling its worst coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began, with more than 1,000 community-acquired infection cases reported in the past week. Health authorities reported 245 new infections Tuesday, of which 240 were classified as domestic transmissions.

The number of such infections has been in the triple digits for four consecutive days. The island's death toll increased by two to a total of 14, while the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases to date rose to 2,260.

Tsai seeks to mitigate public concerns and continue to secure support and cooperation for the government's epidemic prevention measures by clearly stating the prospects for vaccine delivery.

Meanwhile, the Education Ministry announced that all schools, including kindergartens and universities, will suspend face-to-face classes and switch to online learning from Wednesday until May 28.

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