(Add details, background)
GENEVA, April 6 (Reuters) – The World Health Organization does not claim vaccination passports to travel due to uncertainty over whether inoculation prevents the transmission of the virus, as well as equity issues, he said on Tuesday a spokeswoman.
“We, as WHO, say at this stage that we would not like to see the vaccination passport as an entry or exit requirement, because at this time we are not sure that the vaccine will prevent transmission,” said the spokeswoman. ‘WHO, Margaret Harris.
“There are all these other questions, apart from the issue of discrimination against people who cannot get the vaccine for one reason or another,” he told a UN briefing.
Now the WHO hopes to review China’s COVID-19 vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac for the possibility of using an emergency list in late April, Harris said.
“It’s not coming as fast as we had hoped because we need more data,” he said, refusing to provide more information, citing confidentiality.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus last month appealed to countries with excess vaccine supplies to urgently donate 10 million doses to the COVAX facility it manages with the GAVI vaccine alliance. India’s export restrictions left the vaccine-sharing program within reach of AstraZeneca vaccine supplies made by the Serum Institute of India.
Harris said he had no updates on any country moving forward and added, “We’re looking for a lot more vaccine.”
Reports by Stephanie Nebehay; edited by Andrew Cawthorne