Thailand has become the fifth country in the world to recognize the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Taiwan-based Medigen Vaccine Biologics, according to a list released by Thailand’s government on Monday.
The Medigen vaccine was added to a list of eight previously recognized vaccines that will enable travelers to visit Thailand under its new tourism sandbox plan, according to the Thailand foreign ministry’s Department of Consular Affairs.
The previously accepted COVID-19 vaccine brands were Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Sinopharm, Johnson & Johnson, Sputnik V, and Covaxin (a vaccine developed in India).
Under the tourism sandbox plan that began Tuesday, travelers fully vaccinated with one of the nine vaccine brands can stay in one of several designated locales, including Phuket, Phang-gna, Krabi, Koh Samui, Koh Tao, and Koh Pha-ngan, for seven days after arriving in the country.
Once the seven-day period has ended, they can then travel to other parts of Thailand.
The sandbox plan will replace Thailand’s TEST & GO program, which was launched in November 2021 and suspended a month later. That program enabled travelers from low-risk countries including Taiwan, who tested negative for COVID, to avoid quarantine.
Thailand is now the fifth country around the globe that allows travelers who have received the Medigen vaccine to either enter the country or face a shorter mandatory quarantine period, after New Zealand, Palau, Indonesia, and Belize.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel