Quarantine rule still in place, vaccine passport 'just an idea' as of now
A vaccine passport to avoid 14 days of quarantine is just an idea at the moment as there is no conclusive evidence yet of Covid-19 vaccine's effectiveness against the virus, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) stated on Sunday.
DDC director-general Dr Opas Karnkawinpong said that exempting Covid-19 vaccinated people from 14 days of quarantine was just an idea because the World Health Organization (WHO) has said there is not enough information available to certify the Covid-19 vaccine as 100 per cent effective in preventing infection.
He said it is believed that in the future the world will adopt the vaccine passport idea for overseas travel.
To strictly control the spread of yellow fever, an international certificate of vaccination or Yellow travel book was adopted for people travelling from Africa and South America. This book must be shown every time when travelling internationally that they have been vaccinated against yellow fever.
Opas said that the adoption of the vaccine passport is an international rule. According to the International Health Regulation of 2005, the WHO rules when a vaccine passport can be used. While people in many countries are currently getting vaccinated against Covid-19, no other country has adopted this approach.
Therefore, the 14-day quarantine measure is consistent and appropriate for the situation. Opas said that It would be possible for Thailand to adopt it if there was enough information on the Covid-19 vaccine's efficacy. His said the idea would be placed before the Communicable Disease Committee for consideration again.