The 2.5 million doses of Moderna vaccines donated by the U.S. arrived in Taiwan at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. AIT Director Brent Christensen and health minister Chen Shih-Chung were on hand to personally receive the shipment that was brought in by a China Airlines flight. President Tsai delivered a speech via livestream to thank the U.S. and Japan for coming to Taiwan''s aid in time of need.

I recall that at the very onset of the outbreak, we had swiftly secured surgical mask supply, and came rapidly to the aid of countries in pressing need for masks. Although there were divergent opinions on the matter, we believed in one thing — that a friend in need is a friend indeed. Now that we are faced with difficulty, our good friends have also given us a helping hand. This is an exemplification of that very saying. Considering that both Japan and the U.S. are still battling the outbreak within their borders, and still they were willing to assist Taiwan—for that I want to once again express my deepest gratitude.

The 2.5 million doses came as a pleasant surprise for Taiwan. It was 1.75 million more than the 750,000 doses the Biden administration had pledged. According to Presidential Office Spokesman Xavier Chang, what brought about this three-fold increase were the efforts of diplomatic personnel, the rallying by overseas Taiwanese, U.S. Congress'' bipartisan support for Taiwan, and most importantly, the support of President Biden and his administration.