No ‘vaccine passport’ required, international trade ban lifted

Statement on the 11th meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the Emergency Committee on the Corona Virus (Covid-19) Pandemic just published by the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the General WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus identified Covid-19 further as a PHEIC. He absorbed the Commission’s advice and made interim recommendations to the Member States.

WHO recommends member countries no longer require vaccination certificates for international travelers (Illustration from the Internet)

The meeting was just held on April 11 at WHO headquarters in Geneva (Switzerland) and the statement was just posted by WHO on its homepage on April 13.

The interim recommendations have 11 sections, including new or revised recommendations.

Among them, the most prominent is the recommendation “Remove the ban on international trade and continue to adjust travel measures, based on risk assessment”. According to the WHO, the failure of the travel bans came after the discovery and reporting of the Omicron variant, in order to limit its international spread, which proved less effective over time.

“The implementation of epidemic prevention measures for tourism (such as vaccination, screening, testing, isolation…) must be based on risk assessment and avoid placing a financial burden on international visitors. , according to article 40 of the IHR ” – WHO said.

What is attracting the attention of countries around the world is the “vaccination passport”, WHO states: “No proof of having been vaccinated against Covid-19 disease when traveling internationally is not required, such as road or treatment. conditions permitting international travel. Member States should consider a risk-based approach to facilitating international travel”.

The remaining recommendations focus on each country’s pandemic response policies; always ready scientifically and with the most advanced, ready and up-to-date treatment measures to reduce the burden caused by Covid-19; at the same time, ensure health, education, social and other essential services, step by step overcome the consequences of the pandemic in a sustainable way.

According to Anh Thu