Fiji Targets ‘vaccine Passport’ for Economic Recovery

Speaking in Parliament, Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the Global Tourism Crisis Committee had called for a vaccine passport.

Sayed-Khaiyum said the passport should serve as an essential travel document to help restart global tourism.

He said it was also important that every eligible Fijian registered for vaccination.

The minister said the country was expected to receive the Covid-19 vaccines this year and would be rolled out quarterly.

“We cannot afford to jeopardise our safety and chances of economic recovery, which can only truly begin once the target population is completely vaccinated,” Sayed-Khayum said.

“The sooner the process begins, the easier our rollout will be. This vaccine will protect us. It will save lives. But it will also be a shot of life for our economy.”

Sayed-Khaiyum said the vaccine passport would provide proof that the holder had been vaccinated against the Covid-19.

He said this was would also assure visitors that ‘Fiji was safe and open for business’.

He said the vaccination passport could be an app on a mobile device, a QR code or barcode printed on a vaccination certificate or an authenticated way of verifying the individual vaccine passports through information systems.

“We’re actively exploring all possibilities.”

(Source: RNZ pacific news 15 February 2021)