Why WHO is against the most talked about "Vaccine Passport" ?

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Friday that it had denied the introduction of records of vaccination — popularly called "vaccine passports" — against COVID-19 as a requirement for allowing international tourists entry into other countries.

Several countries have already shown their interest in providing vaccine passports, including Spain, Belgium, Iceland, Estonia, and Denmark.

"There are still too many fundamental unknown facts in terms of the effectiveness of the vaccines in the reduction of virus transmission and vaccines are still available that too in limited quantities," the committee said in its recommendations about this, adding that proof of treatment should not exempt from other health-related precautionary measures.

Poland has become the latest European country to announce the introduction of vaccine passports on Thursday.

The country's deputy health representative Anna Goławska said Poles would be able to have access to their certification in the form of a downloadable QR code after receiving the second dose of a coronavirus vaccine. The code would also allow the recipient to "use the rights to which protected people are entitled."

Last week, Denmark said it would also look at the construction of a vaccine certificate to ease limitations on travel and freedom of movement.

The ethics of vaccine papers has been the topic of debate, with the UK's University of Exeter recently writing a study on their impact on human rights.

"Digital health passports may add to the long-term management of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they place several fundamental questions for the protection of data privacy and human rights," Ana Beduschi, an associate law teacher and one of the report's authors.

She noted that the requirement to show your fitness records to access public and private spaces would marginalize people and restrict their freedom.

"Arguably, such measures could protect the freedoms of those who do not have the disease or have been vaccinated," Beduschi said.

"However, if some people cannot obtain or afford COVID-19 tests or vaccines, they will not be able to prove their health status for travel, and thus their freedoms will be de facto restricted".