New Delhi: India at the G7 meet on Saturday strongly opposed the idea of coronavirus vaccine passport. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, addressing the meeting of his counterparts from seven wealthy nations to which India was invited this year as a guest, raised concerns about the availability of vaccines and low rates of inoculation in developing nations.
In a series of posts on his microblogging account, Dr Harsha Vardhan said,” With vaccine coverage as a % of population in developing countries still low compared to developed countries, such an initiative could prove to be highly discriminatory.”
According to Dr Harsh Vardhan, it is imperative to upsurge the production of vaccines and ensure equitable global distribution. At this stage of the pandemic, it is pertinent to also discuss India’s concern over the idea of a vaccine passport. Considering the fact of the lower levels of vaccination of the population in developing countries in contrast to the developed countries and given the still-unaddressed issues related to equitable and affordable access, supply and distribution of safe and effective vaccines, India would propose that the implementation of a vaccine passport will be hugely discriminatory and disadvantageous to the developing countries,” the health minister said.
The G7 health ministers meeting in Britain agreed Friday to step up coordination against future pandemics and other threats, but made no new commitments to speed up vaccine deliveries to less developed countries.
The Group of Seven is an international organisation comprising Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
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