GENEVA: A senior World Health Organization (WHO) official on Monday mentioned that so-called “vaccine passports” for COVID-19 shouldn’t be used for international travel due to numerous concerns.
These include ethical considerations that coronavirus vaccines aren’t easily available globally, mentioned WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan at a press briefing.
There are “real practical and ethical considerations” for countries considering using vaccine certification as a condition for travel, and the UN health agency advises against it, for now, mentioned Ryan.
“Vaccination is just not available enough around the world and isn’t available certainly on an equitable basis,” he added.
WHO has previously noted that it’s still unknown how long immunity lasts from the numerous licensed COVID-19 vaccines and that data is still being collected.
Ryan is also noted the strategy might be unfair to people who cannot be vaccinated for certain reasons and that requiring vaccine passports might allow “inequity and unfairness to be further branded into the system”.
