Lagos (Nigeria), Sep 23 (AP) The director of Africa CDC has criticised Britain's decision to subject some travellers who had been fully vaccinated to quarantine upon their arrival in England.
Dr John Nkengasong says the Africa CDC will call for a review of the policy that “doesn't speak to solidarity and cooperation” and are “the cornerstone” to defeat the pandemic.
Britain had pledged to share 100 million vaccines with the rest of the world by June 2022, with 30 million doses to be sent to various countries in 2021, including in Nigeria where it donated 1.2 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in August.
But its new policy taking effect October 4 means some people who got those vaccines are still not recognized as fully vaccinated. That is because the UK government recognises those fully vaccinated against COVID-19 based on certain terms, including that travellers must have received a UK-authorised shot from an approved health body. None of the bodies in Africa made it to the list.
“If in the same token, you send us vaccines and we use those vaccines, and you say you don't recognize people that have been immunized with those vaccines, it sends a very challenging message for us…a message that creates confusion within our own population,” Dr Nkengasong said Thursday.
He added it is “clearly not acceptable” for Britain to put incoming travelers fully vaccinated “on the list to create stigmatisation” and criticised the policy and similar positions “not backed by science or any evidence”. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)













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