GEORGE TOWN: Travellers should check the vaccine requirements of their intended destinations before they plan their trips abroad, says Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

       The Health director-general advised travellers to comply with all the rules and regulations of these other countries.

       “Please check the vaccine requirements and certificates accepted by the countries. We have to comply with all their rules and regulations,” he said when contacted yesterday.

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       This came after two brothers were not permitted to enter Germany despite being fully vaccinated with CoronaVac (the Covid-19 vaccine by Sinovac) and having received Comirnaty (by Pfizer-BioNTech) booster shots. The brothers and their parents were supposed to have a family trip to observe Ramadan with their younger brother who is studying in Dusseldorf.

       When the brothers returned to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Tuesday, they said they were thankful to be home after spending 15 hours on two different flights. One brother, who wanted to be known only as Fariq, 30, said they felt that something was not right when they arrived in Germany.

       He said the family had arrived on March 19 to visit their youngest brother who is pursuing a master’s degree at a university there.

       Despite adhering to all strict screening protocols set by the travel agencies and Turkish Airlines, they were barred from entering Germany, with their Sinovac vaccination given as a reason. Fariq said he hoped that the story of their bitter experience would be a lesson to travellers to check if the vaccines they had received were acceptable in the countries they planned to visit.

       Germany currently offers only five vaccines to its citizens – the ones made by Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax.

       In February, European Union (EU) countries agreed to open their borders to travellers who have had shots against Covid-19 authorised by the World Health Organisation, easing restrictions on those who received Indian and Chinese vaccines. Prior to this, the EU had only authorised vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax.