The World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Committee on the 15th of January, gave a few recommendations regarding the Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic.
The WHO Emergency Committee advised countries not not to demand vaccination or immunity proof against the COVID-19 virus for international travel, as mandatory.
The committee said the COVID-19 pandemic remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and all the countries are not efficient with vaccines.
Regarding this, the WHO rapidly developed its policy position related to requirements for proof of COVID-19 vaccination for international travellers.
The Committee also said, the WHO should coordinate the setting of standards for digital documentation of COVID-19 vaccination status.
The WHO Emergency Committee said, “At the present time, do not introduce requirements of proof of vaccination or immunity for international travel as a condition of entry as there are still critical unknowns regarding the efficacy of vaccination in reducing transmission and limited availability of vaccines.” It further added, “Proof of vaccination should not exempt international travellers from complying with other travel risk reduction measures.”
Mike Ryan, an emergency expert of the WHO said, “What the committee is saying is ‘at this present time’, scientific evidence is not complete, there isn’t enough vaccine and therefore we shouldn’t do that now and create an unnecessary restriction to travel.” He added, “So we are trying to protect the travel space and ensure economies are not entirely isolated. ”
The committee also urged the WHO to develop a standardized system for naming new variants or the new strain of COVID-19 found in the United Kingdom (U.K.,) to avoid geographical markers.
The Emergency Committee meeting of 19 independent experts was held on the 15th of January.
The WHO conducted its sixth meeting in a year regarding the pandemic COVID-19.
Meanwhile, globally COVID-19 cases reached 90 million cases and 2 million death cases.
Stay tuned for further updates.
