Vaccine passports not free pass to travel: Ong Ye Kung
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Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said proof of vaccination does not mean being able to travel abroad easily.
Having proof of vaccination, or so-called vaccine passports, will not give people a free pass to travel abroad easily, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said at a media conference yesterday.
Ultimately, countries will have to come to an agreement to recognise the vaccine certificates issued by other countries before travel will be allowed, he said in response to a media query.
Mr Ong was asked if Singapore has plans to introduce vaccine passports as a condition for travelling in or out of the country.
"I always felt that the concept of a vaccine passport is actually a bit of a misnomer," the minister said at the media conference held by the Covid-19 multi-ministry task force, which he co-chairs.
"It gives you the impression that, as with a passport, you can travel to many places. It actually wouldn't work like that."
He said that two regions would assess each other's risk profile, and if it is similar, they could form an air travel corridor, like the air travel bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong.
The travel bubble, which will allow quarantine-free travel between both cities, was originally slated to start on Nov 22 last year, but was pushed back to next Wednesday, and has now been postponed again, after a recent spike in Covid-19 cases here.
Mr Ong said such an arrangement starts with both sides recognising each other's vaccine certificates, after determining that good vaccines are administered under supervised conditions.
Then, both sides will have to decide on policies like whether the quarantine period should be done away with or cut short, among other details.
"What is more likely is a two-step process. No. 1, mutual recognition of vaccine certs, and No. 2, what to do with those vaccine certs, and you confer the appropriate restriction relaxations," Mr Ong said.
Singapore and Hong Kong are expected to announce a new launch date for the travel bubble towards the end of the current period of heightened alert here, which is due to last until June 13.
