"
The idea of restricting flows to people who are only vaccinated is a debate that seems premature to us
, [...]
you have 4 to 5% of the European population vaccinated, the most vulnerable groups and not those who are most can travel spontaneously
, ”said Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne during a press point on Tuesday, February 16 on the revival of tourism in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (Paca) region.
During an interview with
Le Figaro
a few weeks ago, the Secretary of State in charge of Tourism considered that the debate on the vaccine passport for travel was premature and called for caution as to travel, especially during the February holidays, considering that priority should be given to the vaccination of a maximum of French people.
"
The fact of making the trip conditional on being vaccinated is an ethical subject and not a small subject,
" he insisted on Tuesday.
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne pleads above all to try to streamline the testing devices before and after a trip, with antigenic tests whose reliability is improving according to him or technological tools that could facilitate the procedures.
The Secretary of State notably mentioned the possibility of downloading his test via a QR code at the airport to replace the tests presented on paper and likely to be falsified.
Read also: Covid-19 and travel: February reservations, vaccination passport ... the latest information
Still no common position in the European Union
The idea of the vaccine "laissez-passer" dividing within the European Union.
Frog 974 / stock.adobe.com
At his side, the LR president of the Paca region, Renaud Muselier, was less reserved: "
The health passport is premature but when the vaccines are available and the population can be vaccinated, it will be necessary,
" he said. he declared, taking the example of the yellow fever vaccine which is compulsory to travel to certain countries.
A vaccination passport, the future "pass" for tourism?
The idea is gaining ground in a world still locked in by travel restrictions.
Without delay, the Seychelles introduced it in mid-January.
A first.
At the European Union level, discussions are underway between the 27 on common standards for mutual recognition of vaccine certificates.
But there is no common position at this stage on the rights they could open.
Read also: The vaccine, the new sesame for travel?
Greece in particular, keen to save its tourist industry, submitted in January a proposal to the European Commission for the establishment of a European "vaccination certificate" to facilitate travel within the EU.
But for the French Secretary of State, this letter was "
ambivalent
": "
At the same time as he pleads for the device, two lines later he says that it should not be a prerequisite for travel
".
Read also: Tourism: Greece bets on the vaccine to save its summer
Vaccination passport: for or against?
