COVID-19 vaccines under the International Health Regulations – We must use the WHO International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis

Authors: Eskild Petersen, Daniel Lucey, Lucille Blumberg, Laura D. Kramer, Seif Al-Abri, Shui Shan Lee, Tatiana de Castro Abreu Pinto, Christina W. Obiero, Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales, Richard Yapi, Aisha Abubakar, Paul Anantharajah Tambyah, Allison Holmes and Lin H. Chen

19 January 2021

The first vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have now received emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA) and national authorities in China, India, UK, and Russia; and are rapidly being distributed in more than 30 countries since the end of the 2020 . So far vaccines are being used by the respective countries after national approval based on promising efficacy reports and safety data, however, data on some of these vaccines have not yet been published in international peer-reviewed journals. The World Health Organization (WHO) has a role in “pre-qualifying” COVID vaccines, but WHO pre-qualification may not be necessary to record the use of immunization or prophylaxis in WHO International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP, aka Carte Jaune or Yellow Card) as this has not been the case with other vaccines which may not be WHO prequalified. Every dose of any COVID vaccine should be entered in the WHO Yellow Card. The COVID-19 vaccines will change the national control effortsas they become available over the coming months either offered free of charge through government-sponsored, free immunization programs or delivered through private clinics. It will also change the travel trends whether for work or leisure.

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