Immunity Passport For Vaccinated Malta Citizens On The Cards, Chris Fearne Confirms
A new COVID-19 passport will be rolled out for Maltese citizens to help them travel easier after being vaccinated.
In a press conference today, Prime Minister Robert Abela, Health Minister Chris Fearne and Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci praised today’s arrival of 10,000 COVID-19 vaccines, with Fearne saying this was a “return to normality” and a “historic” day.
With plans to have Malta achieve herd immunity by summer 2021, the idea of an “immunity passport” being rolled out locally was also brought up.
“The passport is a concept that we are discussing with the other European countries, and this is the beauty of the EU countries getting the vaccine together,” Fearne said. “The idea is that by summer not only will there by 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.
“This means we can start inviting tourism back to Malta and give our economy a boost without increasing the risk to Malta’s health and safety.”
Fearne appealed to the Maltese public to take the vaccine.
By summer, herd immunity is planned to be achieved in Malta.
An immunity passport is a concept being discussed in various countries around the world, intended to quickly prove someone has been vaccinated and allow them greater freedom to travel and gather in public places.
While it is still a concept being discussed, more and more countries and airlines are taking it seriously.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), an airline trade association that represents 290 airlines worldwide, said in November that it was in the final stages of developing a digital vaccine passport for travellers. The IATA Travel Pass will let travellers share their vaccination status and COVID-19 test results with airlines and border authorities, via a contactless passport app.
And several individual airlines, such s Australia’s Qantas and even South Korea’s Korean air, have hinted that they’d be asking travellers to be vaccinated before boarding their aircraft.
In an interview with Lovin Malta, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana had showed skepticism when discussing a potential vaccination “certificate”, saying Malta shouldn’t introduce COVID-19 vaccination ‘certificates’ that would allow inoculated people to do things that they wouldn’t be allowed without one.
“I don’t think so, I think people should be free to do what they think is best for them and their families,” Caruana said. “I don’t think governments should push it to the extreme that they control everything and everyone.”
“The vaccine is there for everyone to take, I’m quite sure that a significant number of people will go for it, and this in turn will help stabilise the situation.”
Cover photo inset: JN Learning
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