COVID-19 | Vaccine passports only way to restart mass air travel, says Dubai Airports chief

Among those who have objected to the idea of vaccine passport are the World Health Organisation and the World Travel and Tourism Council.

Moneycontrol News

May 16, 2021 / 10:02 PM IST

File image (Source: Reuters)

The vaccine passport, a documentation that shows the traveller has been vaccinated against COVID-19, would be the "only way" to restart mass air travel, said Dubai Airports chief executive Paul Griffiths.

No other alternative to vaccine passport is in sight to resume global aviation in the manner in which it existed in pre-COVID times, said Griffiths, who heads the operations at the world's biggest airport for international passengers.

Griffiths told BBC on May 15 that he supports the idea of vaccine passport as it is "inevitable". "I don't think there is an alternative," he added.

Also Read | Vaccine Passport: How to apply, the different types, countries you can travel and more

On the criticism that the system of vaccine passport would discriminate against those who cannot be inoculated, the Dubai Airports chief argued that the focus should be on equitable global distribution of vaccine.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show