"Healthy Taiwan" strengthens vaccine resilience and establishes a foundation for pandemic preparedness/Moderna Global Vice President: Demonstrates Taiwan's determination to attach importance to medical and health policies

After the COVID-19 pandemic, how to prepare for the next wave of potential epidemics has become an important issue for various countries. Since President Lai Ching-te took office, he has pushed for policies related to "Healthy Taiwan." Patrick Bergstedt, Global Vice President of Moderna, believes that this move shows Taiwan's policy determination to attach importance to medical and health safety and will help establish a more complete foundation for future pandemic preparations.

Preparing for the next wave of potential epidemics has become an important issue

The Asia-Pacific region has experienced multiple infectious disease epidemics in the past two decades, including SARS, H1N1, MERS, and COVID-19. Patrick pointed out that past infectious disease epidemics have repeatedly highlighted that countries should pay more attention to medical security, resource acquisition and preparation, and prepare early to cope with disease challenges that may come at any time.

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Patrick: Taiwan already has the conditions for success

Patrick said that the next wave of pandemic will definitely come, and governments of various countries have therefore raised the importance of medical and health security to a new level, putting forward different plans and initiatives, hoping to protect the people and important decision-making industries. However, related preparations are not enough to rely on vaccines alone, but require a complete epidemic prevention ecosystem, including a strong disease control system, medical institutions, biotechnology industry, etc., and operate harmoniously like a symphony orchestra to ensure that all stakeholders play their roles.

Since taking office, President Lai has actively implemented policies and arrangements related to "Healthy Taiwan." Patrick believes that the "Healthy Taiwan" series of policies show that the Taiwanese government has strong political determination and is willing to attach importance to health and medical safety. Coupled with Taiwan's existing CDC, medical and academic systems, it already has the conditions for success.

The industry hopes to maintain long-term cooperative relations with the government

Patrick shared that Moderna found from its cooperation experience with Mexico that the most important factor in establishing a successful cooperation model is whether the government shows political determination and is willing to create an environment that continues to emphasize health security and resilience. Nowadays, more and more people realize that health defense and national defense are equally important. The country's public health system, medical system, and academic infrastructure are also important considerations for pharmaceutical companies when considering whether cooperation can be successful. Whether the government and society as a whole "believe in the vaccine" is crucial to success or failure, and it is also necessary to ensure that the vaccine can be delivered to everyone.

In addition, Patrick mentioned that biotechnology industries such as vaccine development are very heavy on technology and capital. Most of the industry hopes to maintain long-term cooperative relationships and be informed of the government's demand for vaccines in a timely manner. The government hopes to know whether the industry has the ability to supply vaccines when needed. Establishing a smooth information exchange channel will help both parties continue to cooperate. In addition, the property losses caused by the epidemic to society cannot be ignored. How to simultaneously protect strategically important industries is an important issue.