By Daniel Funke - Politifact
"You will need a yellow vaccination passport from the World Health Organization if you plan to travel internationally once the borders are opened," says a video posted on March 17 that has become popular on the social network TikTok.
In the video, which was shared thousands of times before being deleted, a TikTok user was seen saying that he works for "an international airline."
He assured that the cards issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to those who receive the coronavirus vaccine in the United States are not enough to enter other countries.
[Will there be COVID-19 vaccination passports in the United States for the summer?]
"They are not accepting them because they are easy to falsify and they are issued by the CDC, which is an American organization that other countries do not necessarily recognize," said the user, "what all the countries of the world recognize are the documents that the World Organization delivers. Of the health".
Almost a quarter of citizens in the United States have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and President Joe Biden has said that at the current rate, some degree of normalcy could be returned to July 4.
That is why we decided to verify if what is said in the TikTok publication about this supposed vaccination passport is true.
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Video is wrong: COVID-19 vaccine is not required to travel abroad.
While some countries have begun to ask travelers for proof of vaccination to avoid quarantine and retesting, these documents are not a requirement for travel.
Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) advocates against requiring it because it could create injustice for many people.
In the video, the TikTok user showed a yellow document.
He said the WHO sells the vaccination passport on its website and that "it will need a doctor to sign and stamp it for it to be valid."
The yellow document is the WHO International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, which was created after the approval of the International Health Regulations in 2005. The vaccination record, the size of a passport, includes pages that “must be hand signed by a doctor [...] who supervises the administration of the vaccine or prophylaxis ”.
You can download and print one of those documents for free online, but they are not directly related to COVID-19.
"Yellow fever is the only disease for which proof of vaccination is a prerequisite for entry," a WHO spokesperson told PolitiFact.
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In February, the WHO urged countries not to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for exit or entry, "as critical unknowns still exist regarding the efficacy of vaccination in reducing transmission."
"In addition, considering there is limited availability of vaccines, preferential vaccination of travelers could result in inadequate vaccine supplies for priority populations considered to be at high risk of severe disease from COVID-19," the WHO wrote.
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However, that recommendation is not binding and some countries are already implementing their own vaccination policies against COVID-19 for travel.
Iceland, for example, allows the entry of passengers with proof of vaccination.
Without it, travelers need a negative COVID-19 test.
Other countries have similar policies.
Sweden and Denmark are working on creating their own digital vaccination certificates and Israel has issued its "green pass" to vaccinated citizens who want to access public facilities.
(See the Department of State website for a complete list of COVID-19 travel restrictions at the country level.)
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Some airlines have been testing a kind of health passport for travelers, although that does not mean that it will be implemented on all journeys.
The European Union is also considering a similar document to travel within member countries.
The plan was recently approved by the European Commission, although it still needs the approval of the European Parliament and the governments of each country.
However, those documents are not WHO passports and they would not completely close the doors to travelers who have not been vaccinated.
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In January, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was asked if the United States could implement a coronavirus vaccine passport system.
"Everything is on the table. Everything is possible, of course," he told Newsweek magazine:
Our verdict
A TikTok post read: "You will need a yellow WHO vaccination passport if you plan to travel internationally once the borders open."
That is not true and needs clarification.
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International health regulations for travelers require vaccines only against yellow fever.
The WHO has advised countries not to require the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition for travel.
However, some countries have started looking for proof of vaccination to avoid quarantine and further testing, and the WHO vaccination registry can be used in some circumstances.
The Tik Tok post contains an element of truth, but ignores critical facts that alter the real situation.
Therefore, we
rate the video as misleading.
