《TAIPEI TIMES》 Ministry eyes Japan vaccination pact

JAB PARTNERSHIP: Health authorities in Taiwan and Japan should work toward mutual recognition of vaccination certificates, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said

By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to cooperate with health authorities in Taiwan and Japan to establish a communication platform to promote the mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination certificates, an official said yesterday.

The Japanese government is looking to ease its quarantine requirements for visitors, mainly short-term business travelers, students and technical interns, later this month, the Nikkei Asia reported on Monday.

The Japanese government has not yet formally announced the new measures and the ministry is keeping in contact with the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association on the issue, Taiwan-Japan Relations Association secretary-general Chou Shyue-yow （周學佑） told a news conference at the ministry in Taipei.

The ministry would work with the Central Epidemic Command Center to help the health authorities in Taiwan and Japan establish a communication platform and work toward mutual recognition of vaccination certificates, Chou said.

Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp developed Taiwan’s first domestic COVID-19 vaccine, but only Indonesia, New Zealand and Palau have formally announced that they are willing to receive visitors inoculated with the vaccine.

Vietnam is likely to recognize Medigen’s COVID-19 vaccine soon, Overseas Community Affairs Council Minister Tung Chen-yuan （童振源） told lawmakers during a question-and-answer session at the legislature on Monday last week, adding that the council was negotiating with the relevant agencies.

The Vietnamese government has recognized COVID-19 vaccines approved by the WHO, the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency, Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Wallace Chow （周民淦） said at the news conference.

Medigen has not yet applied to the Vietnamese government for recognition for its vaccine, so Taiwanese who have received the Medigen vaccine would not be able to apply for a shorter quarantine period upon arrival in Vietnam, he said.

The ministry has sought the Vietnamese government’s documentation for vaccine recognition applications and it would offer the necessary assistance to Medigen if it plans to register its vaccine in the nation, he added.

As of Monday, more than 25 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in Taiwan — 12.3 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, 6.1 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, 5.2 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 1.3 million doses of the Medigen vaccine, data showed.

Meanwhile, Member of the European Parliament George Kyrtsos wrote on Twitter that an official mission — seven members of the parliament and the secretariat — were flying to Taiwan from Paris.

They are members of the European Parliament’s Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the EU and were expected to arrive in Taiwan today.

The European Parliament told the Central News Agency that the delegation would be its first official mission to Taiwan.

Additional reporting by CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES