Dr. Chi-Huey Wong, president of IBMI, said yesterday that the Omicron variant of coronavirus has become relatively stable and the mortality rate is close to that of the influenza epidemic, and what is more worrying is that the vaccination rate in Africa and other low-income countries is too low and the virus spreads too quickly in densely populated countries, causing mutations. It is hoped that well-developed countries will donate vaccines or technology to help prevent the re-emergence of new strains of the virus and its global spread.
Wong said that the outbreak has not been any worse, which means that the existing virus is gradually becoming symbiotic with humans and hopefully the outbreak will not be too serious in the future. However, the mutation rate of the coronavirus is very fast, even faster than that of the influenza virus, and neither conventional vaccines nor mRNA vaccines are likely to be able to fully control it.
He pointed out that the mRNA vaccine, which is currently the most discussed vaccine in the world, is not yet as effective as it could be for target delivery, and has to be transported through low temperatures, making it difficult for countries in Africa, for example, to use the mRNA vaccine easily. He noted that vaccine coverage in Africa is currently very low and hoped that rich countries would donate vaccines to African countries free of charge to prevent the re-emergence of new mutations in Africa that could spread to other countries.
In terms of the progress of the development of Taiwan's biotechnology industry, Wong admits that there have been "twists and turns, and it can be said that it is not yet a success". Unlike other manufacturing industries, the biotechnology industry is an innovative industry, so it is bound to face failures. However, when failures occur in the biotechnology industry, it is important to face the setbacks, review the situation and use the experience of failure as a basis for success, and then move forward bravely. There is no doubt that the integration of ICT and healthcare in Taiwan is our strength, but we are currently seeing a lack of linkage between the demand for healthcare and high-tech manufacturing, partly due to the lack of adequate health insurance support, Wong added.
He said that Taiwan's current health insurance does not cover new high-tech products to support the development of upgraded industries. While advanced medical materials can be supported through partial coverage of health insurance, most biologics, antibodies, cells and gene therapy are still not covered by the health insurance. The development of Taiwan's biotechnology industry is seriously out of step with the universal health care system. Taiwan should address this issue by providing patients with the opportunity to choose from innovative drugs and advanced medical materials, as well as encouraging the upgrading of the industry.
Wong suggested that there are two ways to link the biotechnology industry with health insurance, one is to increase the funding for health insurance or adjust partial payment, and the other is to develop new insurance to allow other commercial insurance to come in. This may be because the current system restricts the use of commercial insurance to high-risk products, but it is hoped that this problem can be resolved through professional assessment and research.
