Malta has received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines paving the way for a potential Immunity Passport to be issued to Maltese travellers.
The first consignment of approved COVID-19 vaccines was welcomed by Prime Minister Robert Abela and Health Minister Chris Fearne at the Malta International Airport on Boxing Day. The batch comprised of 10,000 doses of the Pzifer and BioNTech vaccines.
The arrival of vaccinations and a subsequent roll-out schedule has led to the idea that Maltese citizens could obtain an Immunity Passport once they have been vaccinated.
Fearne said, “the idea is that by summer not only will there be many Maltese people who would have taken the vaccine, but around Europe there will be millions more who have been vaccinated and are immune, meaning that even if the virus is present in their country or community, if they are immune, they can travel securely.”
An Immunity Passport could enable individuals to quickly prove they have been vaccinated and allow those individuals freedom of movement – to travel and to circulate in society unencumbered.
It is potentially a simple solution to show they no longer pose a threat of infection.
Whilst still in concept phase not only in Malta, but other countries globally, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), has not yet supported any type of immunity certification or immunity passport given the evidence currently available.
The ECDC notes, that vaccination strategies will need to be adapted to unfolding events and the emerging evidence such as vaccine effectiveness, uptake, and supply.
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