Unfavorable opinion of the WHO Emergency Committee on the Vaccine Passport

The WHO Emergency Committee on COVID on Monday said the mandatory vaccination passport for international travelers was not in favor, although the method seemed appealing.

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The seventh meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Committee on COVID-19 was held on April 15, but its findings were not released until Monday.

In a statement, the experts responsible for guiding the head of the WHO recommend that international travelers “do not need proof of vaccine entry condition”. Given the persistent inequality in global vaccine distribution ”.

“State parties are strongly encouraged to recognize that the need for vaccine proof increases inequality and promotes freedom of movement,” they write.

The idea is being considered for other activities, including sports, as many countries are considering enforcing a health passport for travel, although the idea has provoked strong criticism and concerns about potential discrimination and protection of private data.

In particular the European Union has submitted its project on this topic, China has already released its version‌ and airlines are also working on it. In the United States, the White House said it would not impose a health passport in early April, insisting that the private sector was free to move toward the idea.

At their meeting, WHO Emergency Committee experts reviewed other issues and urged the WHO in particular to “expedite the evaluation of vaccine candidates against COVID-19”.

The WHO has so far approved only Pfizer-Bioentech’s vaccine, including the Austrogeneca-Oxford vaccine made in India and South Korea, and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.

The pandemic has killed more than 3 million people worldwide, and its origin is unknown, although the spread of the virus to humans by a bat-infected animal is a favorite hypothesis by international experts commissioned by the WHO.

The WHO Emergency Committee called on the agency to expedite research into the source of the virus and called for strengthening regulation of markets that sell animals. They called for the sale and import of wildlife, which poses a high risk of transmission – to humans – to discourage new pathogens.