The popular Portuguese islands of Madeira will allow entry to visitors with any of the Covid-19 jabs being administered worldwide and not only with those approved by Europe's drug regulator, the regional government has said.

The European Union (EU), which launched its digital Covid certificate last week, has so far authorised only four vaccines - those of Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, Moderna Inc, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

Mainland Portugal only accepts the four vaccines, but Madeira, an autonomous region popular for its wine and green landscape, has said those who received other shots, such as those of China's Sinovac or India's Covaxin, can visit the Atlantic islands, reports Reuters.

Pedro Ramos, Madeira's health secretary, has said all will be accepted "because if millions have been vaccinated with these vaccines (not approved by the EU), their level of protection is similar to others".