US 'vaccine passport' may do more harm than good

The novel coronavirus has already killed more than 4.94 million people and infected more than 244 million people worldwide. So countries need to set aside their geopolitical interests and work together to contain the pandemic. But there is lack of concerted efforts by countries to strengthen the global fight against the pandemic.

Amid such uncertainties, the White House has announced a vaccination policy for international travelers that will go into effect on Nov 8. Fully vaccinated foreigners visiting the US will be exempted from quarantine, provided they produce proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an aircraft to the US and a negative test for COVID-19 conducted three days before the flight. As for unvaccinated travelers－whether US citizens, lawful permanent residents, or the small number of excepted foreign nationals－they will be required to test within one day of departure.

The fact that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that all the vaccines approved by the World Health Organization or authorized by the US Food and Drug Authority for emergency use will be accepted for travel means those who have taken both doses of the Sinopharm or Sinovac jabs in China can visit the US. That the US' vaccination policy is not discriminatory toward China is heartening to know, especially because Washington has been targeting Beijing with unilateral and selfish policies for the past few years.

Yet Washington's "vaccine passport" arrangement could undermine the global prevention and control efforts, even reverse the gains some countries have made in containing the virus, because people visiting the US could be infected since the virus is still raging in the country and become asymptomatic virus carriers to their own country or any other country they choose to visit.

In particular, the US' measures have failed to control the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus from spreading at the community level. The southern US states have been hit the hardest by the Delta variant, which is responsible for the majority of the new 4.6 million cases since late June. As such, the risky move to exempt foreign travelers who have a "vaccine passport" from quarantine could worsen the epidemic situation in the US. And if the policy leads to a drastic increase in the number of US citizens traveling abroad, it would further complicate the global pandemic situation.

Unlike the US, however, China will continue its "zero tolerance" approach to new cases rather than hastily ease its immigration restrictions. China's prudent border policies are based on successful practices and are nondiscriminatory, and it has worked out its pandemic border control policy very carefully.

China has largely contained the pandemic, thanks to its strict prevention and control measures. After bringing the first wave of the pandemic under control in early 2020, the Chinese government adopted and adjusted strict anti-pandemic measures to prevent the resurgence of infections.

True, small cluster infections have been reported from some parts of China over the past months, but the local governments, with the help of central government health officials and cooperation of the local people, have quickly brought the situation under control.

Such government-community commitment and synergy are hard to find in Western countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom where some people even object to wearing a mask to prevent the spread of the virus.

China has shown its determination and capability to quickly respond to any new outbreaks and bring them under control, and as part of its response to the pandemic, China had fully vaccinated 71 percent of the population by late September, compared with 56 percent in Japan, 55 percent in the US, and 32 percent globally.

And since China doesn't want to lose these gains, requirements such as a higher vaccination rate, formulation of prudent protection measures including booster doses, and more progress in COVID-19 treatment must be met before it will consider relaxing immigration restrictions.

The US' hasty opening of its borders would lead to an increase in air passenger numbers, and could go against the International Civil Aviation Organization's recommendation that the current pandemic situation warrants travel restrictions and minimal movement of passengers between major domestic and international airports.

At this critical stage in our fight against COVID-19, any "vaccine passport" policy could pose global risks that might result in undesirable consequences.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

The author is an associate lecturer at the Hong Kong Institute for Public Administration.