The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with 72 in favour, 16 against and 27 abstentions voted in favour of an amendment by the European Left Group adopting Alexis Tsipras' proposal to treat vaccines against coronavirus as a public good. The two ND members, Dora Bakoyannis and Euripides Stylianides abstained, despite the fact that most members of the EPP (which includes the South West) voted in favour of Alexis Tsipras' proposal.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe rejected, also by a large majority (99-10) any idea of a «vaccination certificate» for non-medical purposes, such as air travel, as proposed by the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
In particular, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in the presence of the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, voted almost unanimously (115 in favour, 2 against) in favour of a draft decision on vaccination against the Covid-19 virus entitled: «Covid-19 vaccines: ethical, legal and practical issues».
It also adopted by a large majority (72 in favour-16 against) an amendment of the European Left Group, following an initiative by George Katrougalos, which asks the Council of Europe to adopt Alexis Tsipras« proposal to treat Covid-19 vaccines as a public good. According to the amendment, »European Union authorities and states should overcome the obstacles and intellectual property restrictions of vaccine patents in order to ensure the widespread production and distribution of vaccines to all countries and all citizens.".
«The timeliness of the proposal is also highlighted by the recent withdrawal of vaccine manufacturers from their commitments to mass deliveries of vaccines. Another aspect of the problem is the need to ensure access to vaccines not only in EU countries but also in neighbouring countries, such as those in the Western Balkans. This is both for obvious humanitarian reasons, but also to reduce the risk of outbreaks of virus transmission,» stresses George Katrougalos.
The Assembly also accepted by a large majority (99-10) the proposal of the Social Democrats and Liberals (ALDE) to reject any idea of a non-exclusive medical use of the vaccination certificate, as proposed by Mr Mitsotakis.
It calls on states and the EU «to use it only for the specified purpose of monitoring vaccine efficacy, potential side effects and adverse reactions”, based on the following rationale: «Vaccination certificates should not be used as a «vaccination passport» (at borders, on airline flights or for access to services). Such use would be unscientific, in the absence of data on the effectiveness of vaccines in terms of transmissibility, the duration of any acquired immunity, and the rate of «failure» to produce immunity due to new mutations, viral load and delayed second doses. Such use would also raise privacy issues and, given the limited availability of vaccines, may perpetuate and reinforce exclusionary and discriminatory practices.».
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also spoke in favour of the nature of the vaccine as a global public good and against the use of the vaccination certificate, according to Mitsotakis' proposal.
«The government of the New Democracy must take these decisions into serious consideration and adjust its policy accordingly,» he said.
