WHO urges nations to equally recognize all covid-19 vaccines for Travel

July 6, 2021 (MLN): In the latest development, the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX), an international initiative aimed at equitable access to vaccines, has urged governments around the world to allow fully vaccinated people to enter countries, a statement issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

In a press release published by WHO, which is one of the founders of COVAX, the latter calls on all regional, national, and local government authorities to recognize all vaccines that have been approved as effective by the World Health Organization and/or the 11 Stringent Regulatory Authorities (SRAs) when making decisions on who is able to travel or attend events.

COVAX in a statement said it was built on the principle of equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines to protect the health of people all across the globe and that means protecting their lives and livelihoods, including their ability to travel and conduct trade.

Furthermore, it stressed that "any measure" that only allows people protected by a subset of WHO-approved vaccines to benefit from the re-opening of travel into and with that region would effectively create a two-tier system, further "exacerbating the inequities we have already seen in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines."

"It would negatively impact the growth of economies that are already suffering the most," it said.

The statement noted that such moves are already undermining confidence in life-saving vaccines that have already been shown to be safe and effective, affecting uptake of vaccines and potentially putting billions of people at risk.

"At a time when the world is trying to resume trade, commerce, and travel, this is counter-effective, both in spirit and outcome," COVAX said.

The COVAX statement comes as nations begin to re-open travel to vaccinated individuals.

There have however been apprehensions that some nations may not allow individuals to enter their regions if they have received certain vaccines.

Earlier, Pakistan also urged WHO to lay its role in getting all vaccines acceptable by countries which have made it mandatory for visitors to be inoculated by certain brands only.

Saudi Arabia and UAE are among the few countries that do not recognize vaccination certificates of Chinese vaccines despite the fact that the WHO has now registered at least two Chinese-manufactured vaccines — Sinopharm and Sinovac.

On the other hand, Pakistan has mostly administered Chinese vaccines to its citizens in a government-run immunization campaign that began last February.

This development will revive international tourism/traveling and business activity which has been interrupted due to countries being selective on recognition of vaccines.

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