People who have received two shots of the Medigen COVID-19 vaccine are allowed to enter Palau, the Pacific island nation said on Thursday.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr announced the decision to allow travelers inoculated using the Taiwanese firm’s vaccine prior to presenting Ambassador to Palau Wallace Chow (周民淦) with a directive issued by Palauan health authorities confirming the recognition of Medigen at a cocktail party held by the embassy to celebrate Double Ten National Day.
Chow described the directive as a National Day gift to Taiwan.
As of Thursday, 52,000 people had been fully vaccinated with two shots of Medigen in Taiwan, with 736,000 having received at least one dose.
Medigen in July was granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration, but has yet to complete phase 3 trials to determine the extent of its efficacy against COVID-19.
The directive stipulates that people arriving in Palau must submit proof they have been fully vaccinated using an approved brand, with the final dose administered at least 14 days prior to the departure of their flight to the island.
Vaccines must have been granted emergency use authorization by either the US Food and Drug Administration or the WHO, the directive says.
Palau “also accepts the Medigen vaccine authorized by the Republic of China-Taiwan’s health authorities,” it says.
For commercial air travel, travelers must submit proof of vaccination to the airline, the directive says.
However, the vaccine requirement does not apply to people traveling within a Taiwan-Palau “bubble,” the Taipei office of the Palau Visitors Authority said.
The bubble, which allows travel between Taiwan and Palau under reduced health protocols, was launched on April 1, before being suspended from the middle of May until Aug. 14 after a surge of COVID-19 cases in Taiwan.
Palau used the travel bubble to court vaccine tourism, offering people a chance to receive COVID-19 jabs at a time when Taiwan was struggling to secure adequate supplies.
Palau’s recognition of Medigen — the only domestic brand to gain emergency use authorization from Taiwan’s authorities — came days after New Zealand added it to its list of approved COVID-19 vaccines.
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