WHO, UN must intervene on vaccine passport issue, says Khairy

PUTRAJAYA: The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) must intervene in the vaccine passport issue where certain countries are “discriminatory” against vaccine types, says Khairy Jamaluddin.

The Health Minister said the decision on giving concessions to vaccinated travellers must be based on disease control as well as public health measures in the country of origin, not the type of vaccines.

“There are some countries stipulating that only individuals who receive certain vaccines will be exempted from performing Covid-19 tests before departure, undergoing quarantine upon arrival in the country, and so on.

“This should not happen because it is important for us to understand that vaccines protect individuals from the risk of getting more severe infections as well as reduce the symptoms of the disease.

“By discriminating against the vaccine type, this will defeat the purpose of having the vaccine and administering it to the population.

“And I believe that we would like to get WHO to come up with a position on the discrimination of vaccines by certain countries.

“Our view is that if the vaccines are listed by the WHO, countries should recognise those vaccines,” Khairy told a press conference on Friday (Sept 24).

It has been reported that several countries have started receiving foreign travellers but with conditions, including the type of vaccine they were given.

England, for example, has allowed entry to fully vaccinated Malaysian citizens without the need for Covid-19 tests or 10-day quarantine upon arrival.

However, this is only for recipients of AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson Janssen vaccines.

This does not include Sinovac or CanSino vaccines, two types that have been administered to some of the Malaysian population.