People wait in line at a temporary Covid-19 rapid testing center in the Wanhua area of Taipei, Taiwan, on Saturday, May 15, 2021.
I-Hwa Cheng | Bloomberg via Getty Images
The United States will donate 750,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan as part of the country’s plan to share shots globally, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth said on Sunday, offering a much-needed boost to the island’s fight against the pandemic.
Taiwan is dealing with a spike in domestic cases but has been affected like many places by global vaccines shortages. Only around 3% of its 23.5 million people have been vaccinated, with most getting only the first shot of two needed.
Speaking at Taipei’s downtown Songshan airport after arriving on a three-hour visit with fellow Senators Dan Sullivan and Christopher Coons, Duckworth said Taiwan would be getting 750,000 doses as part of the first tranche of U.S. donations.
“It was critical to the United States that Taiwan be included in the first group to receive vaccines because we recognize your urgent need and we value this partnership,” she said at a news conference after the group arrived from South Korea.
She did not give details of which vaccines Taiwan would get or when.
Taiwan has complained about China, which claims the democratically-ruled island as its own, trying to block the island from accessing vaccines internationally, which Beijing has denied.
Standing by Duckworth’s side, Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu thanked the United States for the donation.
“While…
