Zakaria Lam’s mother had been looking forward to her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine – until she read some WhatsApp messages which made her become doubtful.
Apparently, an alumni group had shared news that travel to certain countries is only allowed if one has the so-called “right” vaccine.
Lam’s mother, who is in her late sixties, would regularly travel with her friends before the pandemic. They would organise annual trips abroad – as part of the alumni association – to catch up with former schoolmates.
Over the years, the group has travelled to places such as Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia, just to name a few. Lam’s mother would always look forward to these trips.
In fact, the group had planned a tour to Europe early last year. The trip has since been postponed, but the group is keen to travel when it’s safe to do so again.
“My mum isn’t the biggest fan of travel, but she likes to spend time with old friends during these trips. I guess the thought of not being able to travel with her friends (if she doesn’t have an approved vaccine) really affected her,” said Lam.
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Fortunately, the security analyst from Melaka managed to convince his mother to get her jab. Lam’s mother will be getting her second dose soon.
“With the current spike in cases, it’s understandable that people may think it’s irresponsible to reject a certain vaccine just because you want to travel somewhere. But I think these are valid concerns that should be addressed,” said Lam.
Stir over vaccine batch
It was reported earlier in July that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) only approved AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in the European Union (EU), China, United States and Britain.
The report added that the approval doesn’t cover AstraZeneca doses made by South Korea’s SK Bioscience, Thailand’s Siam Bioscience or India’s Covishield.
Since then, the EU Delegation to Malaysia has clarified that all individuals who received Covid-19 vaccines approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) can enter EU countries.
“There is no obstacle or hurdle. Therefore, some recent reporting concerning the AstraZeneca vaccines’ origins is inaccurate,” said an official statement from the EU.
Many members of AstraZeneca Volunteers (Malaysia), a public Facebook group comprising AstraZeneca vaccine recipients, have been asking which country their vaccine batch came from.
The brouhaha had even prompted National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin to call for clarity on vaccination for travellers.
According to him, many countries have yet to finalise their immigration policies involving travellers who have been fully vaccinated.
“There must be a policy (involving travellers who have been fully vaccinated) which is agreed by all countries,” Khairy, who is Science, Technology and Innovation minister, told reporters during an event.
In a statement, WHO said that any Covid-19 vaccine it has authorised for emergency use should be recognised by countries as they start to open up their borders to inoculated travellers.
The organisation warned that any measures barring entry to people protected by a subset of WHO-approved vaccines would create a two-tier system, further widening the global vaccine divide.
“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,” WHO said.
Travellers turned away
Some travellers are discovering that their choice of vaccine could determine where they can or cannot go. Globally, reports of holidaymakers facing entry obstacles have been on the rise.
Some people were also reportedly prevented from boarding flights to their destinations.
The global tourism body issued the warning following concerns that tourists may face getting turned away at the borders, because countries don’t have a common list of internationally-recognised – and approved – Covid-19 vaccines.
WTTC senior vice president Virginia Messina said reciprocal recognition of all vaccine types and batches is essential to restarting global tourism.
“The failure of countries to agree on a common list of all approved and recognised vaccines is of huge concern to WTTC, as we know every day travel is curbed, and more cash-strapped travel and tourism businesses face even greater strain, pushing (them) ever more to the brink of bankruptcy,” she said.
According to WTTC, reports of travellers being turned away because they have the “wrong” vaccine batches or “unrecognised” vaccines have fuelled concern from consumers.
ALSO READ: Inconsistent vaccine approval delays tourism restart in Malaysia and globally
The subject of vaccine recognition is an important one for tourism stakeholders as the global travel industry has been shattered since the pandemic began.
In Malaysia, tourism and related economic activities have suffered losses of over RM100bil.
An unequal world
Vaccination has been viewed by travel experts as a lifeline that could bring tourism back from the brink. However, the irony now is that a lack of mutual vaccine recognition is slowing down international tourism.
Some experts have also pointed out that travel could be determined by the type of vaccine a person received. This shouldn’t be the case, said Nicholas King, a professor in the bioethics and epidemiology department at Canada’s McGill University.
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King, in an interview with Global News, said restricting movement based on the vaccine a person gets would lead to inequalities.
“We live in a world of haves and have-nots. I think the difficulties that are going to be posed for international travel by Covid-19 and by differential vaccination rates will follow those pre-existing patterns,” he said.
Nicholas Thomas, associate professor in health security at City University of Hong Kong, said a global division based around vaccine will only exacerbate the economic and political effects of the pandemic.
“It will risk the world being divided into vaccine silos based on vaccine nationalism rather than medical necessity,” he told Bloomberg.
For travellers who can’t choose what type of vaccine they get, lack of mutual vaccine recognition could potentially limit their post-pandemic escapes.
WTTC’s Messina said this can be avoided with worldwide reciprocal recognition of all Covid-19 vaccines that have been approved by health regulators.
“We can avoid this by having a fully recognised list of all the approved vaccines – and vaccine batches – which should be the key to unlocking international travel, not the door to preventing it,” she said.
As for Lam, he is glad that his mother went for her vaccine appointment. However, he said barring travel based on vaccines – more than slowing down international tourism – could also slow down herd immunity.
On his part, Lam will just take whatever vaccine he gets when his turn comes.
“Being vaccinated would ensure that I’m protected and would be able to travel again when it’s safer. Hopefully when that time comes, all destinations are open for fully vaccinated people,” he concluded.
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