While the new pandemic wave of Covid-19 caused by the Omicron variant leads to unprecedented restrictions in Europe, including for vaccinees, in Italy or Austria, the WHO International Health Regulations Emergency Committee has issued certain recommendations, especially on international travel.
Established on January 13, they were released on Wednesday 19.
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In particular, it is recommended to "
lift or relax international travel bans, as they do not add value and continue to contribute to the economic and social stress of States Parties
", explains the Committee.
Indeed, the WHO believes that implementing blanket travel bans "
is not effective in suppressing international spread
" and "
may discourage transparent and rapid reporting of emerging variants of concern
".
The World Health Organization also recalls that “
travel measures such as masking, testing, isolation/quarantine and vaccination should be based on risk assessments and avoid placing the financial burden on international travellers, in accordance with Article 40 of the International Health Regulations (IHR)
”.
Use tools other than the vaccination pass
For example, countries like Australia or New Zealand are now closed to tourists. The United States and Finland are inaccessible to unvaccinated tourists. In this regard, the WHO considered, for the second time, that the obligation to provide proof of vaccination against Covid-19 for international travel was excessive. The Committee recommends “
not requiring proof of Covid-19 vaccination for international travel as the only avenue or condition permitting international travel given the limited global access and inequitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines
” and invites States to consider
a risk-based approach to facilitate international travel by lifting or modifying measures, such as testing and/or quarantine requirements, as appropriate, in accordance with WHO guidance
”.
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The Committee, chaired by the French professor Didier Houssin, also modified one of its recommendations relating to the vaccination campaign in the world.
Experts call on the international community to ensure that at least "
70% of the population of all countries are vaccinated by the beginning of July 2022 and integrate vaccination against COVID-19 into routine health services
".
In this sense, the WHO recommends that countries that have achieved high vaccination coverage rates in high-risk populations give priority to the global sharing of vaccines, before vaccinating healthy children and adolescents who run the least risk. risk of serious outcomes.
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