US, WHO top scientists not so eager about vaccination passports

Wednesday, April 7th 2021 - 09:11 UTC

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The US government does not see its role as the place to create a passport, said Fauci

The US administration of President Joseph Biden shall not be requiring its citizens to use vaccination passports to prove they were immunized against coronavirus, Dr Anthony Fauci said Tuesday.

Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases explained that the federal government “can be involved to make sure things are done fairly and equitably, but I doubt the federal government is the main element of that.”

“The government does not see its role as the place to create a passport or as a place to store citizens' data,” said Fauci in an interview. He also hoped certain companies and educational institutions would end up creating their own policies on vaccination.

Andy Slavitt, a senior adviser to the White House Covid-19 response team, had previously said that Joe Biden's administration was only guiding the private sector on how to develop so-called vaccination passports.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO) Public Health Emergency Programs Chief Dr Mike Ryan said it was vital to record that a person had been vaccinated, but using that information to allow or prohibit a person from taking part in regular life raised complex, ethical issues.

In Ryan's view, such a measure should not be adopted to travel overseas, since it would isolate poorer countries. 典his is a complex issue ... There are ethical issues ... We already have a huge issue with vaccine equity in the world,” Dr Ryan said. if you don have access to a vaccine in the country then you will effectively become isolated as a country as vaccine passports kick in”, he added.

However, Dr Ryan insisted this recommendation was only temporary and WHO would reconsider the matter at a meeting on April 15 from both a scientific and an ethical viewpoint.