Did Taiwan Vaccine Company Hire Biden's Close Associate's Brother Aiming for US Approval?

U.S. President Joe Biden (center) and Steve Ricchetti, White House Senior Advisor (right) [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] It has been revealed that a family member of a senior White House advisor in the United States was hired as a lobbyist for a Taiwanese COVID-19 vaccine developer. There are suspicions that this company hired a close family member of President Joe Biden aiming for U.S. approval.

On the 29th (local time), CNBC reported, "Jeff Lichetti, the brother of Steve Lichetti, a senior White House advisor, was hired earlier this month as a lobbyist for Taiwan's Medigen Vaccine Biologics." Lichetti is known as a close aide to President Biden.

According to registration documents submitted in mid-month, Jeff Lichetti is responsible for "issues related to COVID-19 vaccines allowed for foreign travelers visiting the United States."

Since early last month, foreign nationals entering the U.S. must have completed COVID-19 vaccination. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognizes not only vaccines approved by U.S. authorities such as Pfizer, Moderna, and Janssen but also vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) such as AstraZeneca (AZ), Sinopharm, and Sinovac as valid vaccinations.

CNBC analyzed, "Medigen's vaccine has only been approved for use in Taiwan," and "Medigen hired Lichetti to get its vaccine listed among those recognized by the CDC."

Lichetti is the first lobbyist hired by Medigen. He has previously worked as a lobbyist for major healthcare companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Horizon Therapeutics, and Baxart, lobbying the Biden administration.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.