The World Health Organisation’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, says there is no evidence yet that COVID-19 vaccine prevents the transmission of the virus.
She warned people who have been vaccinated to observe self-quarantined when they travel.
Speaking during a virtual briefing on Monday, Swaminathan stated that the global health body is yet to confirm whether or not the COVID-19 vaccine being administered in Europe and the United States can prevent the virus or its transmission to others by those infected.
The WHO scientist was reacting to a question on whether people already vaccinated should still be quarantined when they travel to other countries.
“At the moment, I don’t believe we have the evidence of any of the vaccines to be confident that it’s going to prevent people from actually getting the infection and therefore being able to pass it on.
“I think until we know more, we need to assume that people who have been vaccinated also need to take the same precautions until there is a certain level of herd immunity that’s been built in the population,” Swaminathan said.
Recall that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been granted emergency use approvals and are now being administered in Europe and the United States.
They were approved after large clinical trials say they are effective in preventing COVID-19.
The COVID-19 vaccine by AstraZeneca and Oxford University is also expected to be granted emergency use approval in the coming days with more countries now battling a new wave of the viral pandemic.
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