Canada works on vaccinations and secure tourism designation -minister

Nurses at the Humber River Hospital Mobile Vaccination Clinic administer the first dose of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine as part of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) vaccination campaign on April 13, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada REUTERS / Carlos Osorio / file photo

Canada is working with international partners to develop standardized vaccine certification for travel and will position itself as a safe target once the country reaches COVID-19 herd immunity, the tourism minister said Tuesday.

Canada currently has a higher infection rate than the US as it introduces vaccines during a third wave. The country has only fully vaccinated 3% of its nearly 38 million people, although more than 34% have received a first dose and millions of doses arrive every week.

“While vaccination is being introduced, we will clearly position ourselves as a safe target,” said Tourism Minister Melanie Joly in a telephone interview after attending a virtual meeting with her G20 colleagues earlier in the day.

She did not provide any further details. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said anyone who wants can be fully vaccinated by the end of September.

Canada’s land border with the United States has been closed to non-essential travel since March last year, and those arriving by air must be self-tested and quarantined.

The third wave to hit the country has tarnished airline and tourism hopes for travel again this summer. Continue reading

“In any case, there will be a lot more local and regional trips this summer,” said Joly.

On Tuesday, Trudeau said talks are currently underway with international partners about vaccine certification. Joly said talks with G7 partners and some G20 countries are still ongoing.

“It would make sense if we would coordinate with partners around the world on a vaccination record or vaccine certification,” Trudeau told reporters.

In January, Trudeau told Reuters in an interview that he was against vaccination cards because he said they could be “fissile”. Continue reading

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