UPDATE 1-Taiwan Buddhist group enters fray for BioNTech COVID vaccines

(Updates with comment from health minister) TAIPEI, June 23 (Reuters) – A major Taiwanese Buddhist group said on Wednesday that it was hoping to buy 5 million doses of BioNTech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine, joining Foxconn and TSMC in trying to secure vaccines for the island. Taiwan’s government has millions of vaccines on order but has been hampered by global supply shortages, though Japan and the United States this month donated 3.74 million doses as the island deals with a cluster of domestic infections. The Tzu Chi Foundation said that after “initial progress” had been made in sourcing the shots, it…