People who have received shots of the domestically-made Medigen vaccine can currently travel to at least 10 countries and areas that accept Medigen as proof of vaccination, without having to provide proof of a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) head Victor Wang (王必勝) said Thursday.
The countries and areas that accept Medigen as proof of vaccination include Indonesia, Palau, New Zealand, Belize, Somaliland, Thailand, Estonia, Paraguay, Malaysia and Saint Kitts and Nevis, Wang said at a CECC press briefing.
However, Japan, one of the most popular destination among Taiwanese travelers, is not on the list.
In addition, as countries around the world have relaxed border controls, 14 currently do not require inbound travelers to provide proof of vaccination, including South Korea, which will resume visa-free entry privileges for travelers from Taiwan from Nov. 1, Wang pointed out.
Other countries, however, do require inbound travelers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and stipulate that the vaccine must be one of the 11 granted Emergency Use Listing (EUL) by the World Health Organization (WHO), he said.
Currently, Japan requires visitors to have received three COVID-19 jabs, otherwise proof of a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test must be provided upon entry, he added.
Meanwhile, two doses are sufficient for entry to the U.S. and Singapore, with the latter also allowing negative PCR or rapid antigen tests in place of proof of vaccination, Wang said.
There are many other brands out there, not just Medigen, that are not included in the EUL, the CECC chief explained, indicating that countries working tirelessly to develop COVID-19 vaccines all hope theirs will be recognized by the WHO.
He cited Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine as an example, which has already received emergency use authorization in 74 countries but is currently not approved by the WHO.
The 11 vaccines in the EUL include the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Novavax vaccines, all of which are currently available in Taiwan.
On Wednesday, the CECC said all individuals who received Medigen COVID-19 vaccination shots and need to travel abroad can now get one to three shots of a WHO-approved imported COVID-19 vaccine.
Travelers can choose mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer-BionTech and Moderna, or any combination thereof, for their first-two post-Medigen jabs, Wang said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel