The World Health Organization’s Emergency Committee on Thursday (July 15) maintained its stance that proof of COVID-19 vaccination should not be required for international travel, amid a growing debate on blocking the entry of travellers if they are unvaccinated.

The independent experts said that vaccinations should not be the only condition to permit international travel, given limited global access and inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

The experts had previously said that requiring proof of vaccination deepens inequities and promotes unequal freedom of movement.

Poorer countries with less access to vaccinations could face exclusion if such measures are put into place, some health experts have said.

Among those who have argued against the use of one’s vaccination status as a prerequisite for travel is Jamaican Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett.

According to Bartlett, global leaders should exercise caution in mandating any form of proof of vaccination, as a prerequisite for travel, that does not take into account the unequal access and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally, as this could be perceived as discriminatory.

He said: “There can hardly be a harmonised position for digital passports and other bio-sanitary protocols when some countries and regions lag dramatically behind in their health response systems, including the vaccination process.”

While some countries particularly those within North America have made significant strides in vaccinating their populations and are well on their way to achieving herd immunity, this is not the situation across the board.

As countries within Latin America and the Caribbean are dealt wave after wave of Covid-19 spikes with no vaccine deliveries insight it is unclear when these countries will be able to achieve herd immunity much less begin to consider the implementation of Covid-19 vaccine passports.

Notwithstanding the WHO’s advisement, the European Union this month launched its digital COVID certificate system designed to help citizens travel more freely across the 27-nation bloc and open up summer tourism.