Too early to say vaccination an ‘immunity passport’

KUALA LUMPUR: It is too early to say whether Covid-19 vaccination will serve as the basis for an ‘immunity passport’ before one can start moving around freely, said Health directorgeneral Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said the government still needs to look closely into outcome of vaccines’ efficacy and safety before it can make any decision on the matter. “Vaccination delivers hope to everyone of us but it’s too early for the government to make any decision on whether vaccination will be our ‘immunity passport’ to travel, around the world for example.

“Let us get the vaccination going and then get it evaluated from time to time,” he said in his pre-recorded presentation for the “Forward Malaysia: Charting New Paths to the Next Normal” webinar by Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia that was held via the Zoom application yesterday. He said this in replying to a question on the immunity passport from Consultant Physician of Acute Medicine and Malaysian Advanced Acute Internal Medicine and Ultrasound Society president Datuk Seri Dr Paras Doshi, who was one of the speakers.