CV 19 Vaccination Certification?
Today, whilst having a clear-out, I came across a comprehensive list of vaccinations I received over the many years I was travelling abroad. The certified list included the date each vaccine was given, by whom, where, and the vaccine type, quantity, batch and dates effective from and to. In fact all the info needed to prove I was protected. Only once did it come in useful when I was able to travel into and out of a particular country area because I was ‘covered’.
It set me thinking about the coming (I hope) CV 19 vaccine(s). Will those of us be able to travel abroad because we have been vaccinated? Will we need to prove this and if so how? Will we need different vaccines for different countries and/or areas? Will we need more than one jab? Will insurance companies want proof of vaccination before providing medical cover? Will there be an international gold standard vaccine, or will different countries choose different types as their preferred option? Okay, I don’t know the answers and I doubt if anyone else does but I do wonder just how long it will be before we can return to freely and safely travelling the world, or even Europe.
Comments
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I would imagine that as long as one has had an approved vaccine, that would suffice anywhere you wanted to go. I can envisage a certificate/signed doctors letter system (both physical and electronic) in place for insurance and travel purposes.
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As we've ventured further afield over the past 10 years or so, we've required any number of extra vaccinations which we get from the travel section of our local surgery. Each has been documented in a "travel passport" so I would have thought it possible to do similar for Covid. Undoubtedly, though, HMG will be looking at ways of turning it into a revenue raising exercise!
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“Undoubtedly, though, HMG will be looking at ways of turning it into a revenue raising exercise!”
Personally, I don’t have a problem with that, given that this country now has a mountain of debt. I’m sure we’ll see lots more in the future.
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I travelled extensively and had so many vaccinations that my vaccine passport ran out of space. I recall that certain countries required proof of vaccination (e.g. Yellow Fever) but not in the West and I can’t see that proof of a COVID vaccine would be required in Europe. Apart from anything else, the vaccines have limited effectiveness and are no absolute guarantee of protection.
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Fortunately there are several if not many candidate CV19 vaccines. All are slightly different and it would appear that at least one may be effective at preventing the those infected passing it on. That is a wonderful bonus but could be a double edged sword if some countries start requiring visitors to have it to protect their population.
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To my knowledge, the vaccines that have been developed so far have, up to now, only been shown to be effective in protecting the person who has been vaccinated. There is, as yet, no data to would indicate that the vaccine prevents anyone from passing the virus on to someone else. Whether a certificate may be necessary will depend on the outcome of further investigations in that direction.
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The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine does not have to be stored at such low temperatures until it is administered. During the last 5 days prior to use it is sufficient to store it in a fridge. The logistics of handling it are therefore not quite as daunting as one may fear.
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That seems illogical to me. What is the storage to administration sequence?
Taken from a learned paper / report:
...these vaccines, which use strands of genetic material known as mRNA, also have some stringent temperature requirements. Moderna’s vaccine requires long-term storage at minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit) and is stable for 30 days between 2 degrees to 8 degrees Celsius (36 degrees to 46 degrees Fahrenheit). Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine, however, requires some of the coldest temperatures of any vaccine under consideration: minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit) or lower.
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It is true that the vaccine must be stored at -70°C in the chain from the manufacturer to the clinic where it will eventually be administered, but there it will presumably be administered relatively quickly. For short periods of time, the clinics themselves will only have to store it at normal fridge temperatures.
That is one reason why the vaccine will be administered only in specific clinics, not by GP's in general.
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Because it only has a short shelf life once it leaves that minus 70°C, a bit like defrosting a piece of chicken from the freezer. Fine for 24-36 hours but it goes off after that.
I believe Pfizer have stated that 5 days is the maximum period the RNA can be relied on to stay active.
Edit - Crossed with Lutz's post.
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