Taiwan began using domestically produced vaccine

At the time of approval, the vaccine - produced by Medigen Corporation - had yet to complete a third trial phase, but was given urgent approval by medical regulators. The company said there were no major safety concerns and that studies had shown that the antibodies produced by the Taiwanese vaccine "were no worse" than those produced by the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Medigen is a subtype of the protein vaccine, similar to that developed by Novavax. The Novavax vaccine uses a more traditional method of creating a 'protein spike' virus to stimulate the immune system.

More than 700,000 people have already signed up to receive the Medigen vaccine, which is given in two doses 28 days apart. Taiwan currently reports a dozen infected people a day. Less than five per cent of Taiwan's 23.5 million people have been fully vaccinated and about 40 per cent have received only one dose, news agencies reported.