KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia has urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to step up and resolve the issue of digital vaccine certification recognition, said Khairy Jamaluddin.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister said it is the global health body’s responsibility to instruct countries to recognise all coronavirus vaccines that it has validated.
“For example, the European Union accepts only vaccines that are used in the EU, such as Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca.
“Similarly, China accepts only vaccines made by China: Sinovac and Sinopharm.
“The world must come together and say, look, if the vaccine has been approved and listed by WHO, we must accept it,” he told a press conference after visiting the Bukit Jalil National Stadium vaccination centre today.
On requirements for entry into Malaysia, he said it is not a technical issue, but more of the government’s policy on whether to permit it.
“We are facing two issues, and one is the technology issue of recognising one another’s digital certificates. This is a conversation we are having with other countries.
“The other issue is a policy issue, where you decide when foreigners will be able to visit your country. It depends on the case numbers, variants, and that is something we continue to discuss with the government to see which country will allow us to travel.
“At the moment, because our case numbers are slightly high, many travel arrangements have been suspended.” – The Vibes, June 21, 2021
