While many countries are planning to implement “vaccination passports” to facilitate the movement faster, the Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization Committee (WHO) has stressed that the impact of vaccines on reducing transmission is not yet known and current vaccine availability is too limited, urging countries to refrain from imposing such requirements.
WHO called on the governments not to introduce vaccination or immunity requirements as a condition of entry for international travel, as according to the organisation, there are still some uncertainties regarding the effectiveness of vaccination, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“Being vaccinated should not exempt international travellers from complying with other travel risk reduction measures,” the WHO committee stressed during its meeting held on January 14.
However, the President of the European Union Commission Ursula von der Leyen has recently supported the idea to establish such a document which could be used by the EU Member States as a joint certificate to identify all persons who have been vaccinated against the Coronavirus pandemic and make their life easier.
“It is a medical requirement to have a certificate proving that you have been vaccinated,” the President of the Commission said in this regard.
Still, she believes that EU countries should first discuss such a plan.
European Union Commission President’s comments followed a letter addressed to her over a week ago by the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urging the European Commission to create a vaccination document that would facilitate the travel between the bloc, at the time when many countries are imposing restrictions to halt the further spread of COVID-19.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Health of Denmark revealed that it is attempting to create a “vaccine passport” for its citizens, which could be available for Danish citizens.
Authorities in Spain also supported the proposal of creating this common document, even though WHO experts do not believe that this plan would be useful.
Back in April 2020, an EU official told SchengenVisaInfo.com that for those wishing to travel to the Schengen Zone once the vaccine is confirmed and available, the Member States would make proof of vaccination a requirement for those wishing to enter the borderless territory.
Throughout its meeting, the WHO Emergency Committee also discussed the new variants of SARS-CoV-2 found recently in many countries.
The committee urged for “a worldwide expansion of genome sequencing and data exchange, together with greater scientific collaboration to address critical uncertainties”.
The committee also called on the WHO to develop a new standardised system to name new variants of the COVID-19.
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