Ontario Calls On Feds To Help Guarantee Canadians With Mixed Vaccines Can Travel Abroad
They're asking the feds to work with WHO.
Ontario Calls On Feds To Help Guarantee Canadians With Mixed Vaccines Can ...
Ontario is calling on the federal government to guarantee that Canadian travellers who have been fully immunized with mixed COVID-19 vaccines will be able to travel internationally as borders reopen.
The provincial government is now asking that residents who have received doses of both an mRNA vaccine and AstraZeneca, or those who have mixed separate mRNA vaccines, will be considered "fully immunized" by other countries.
"As you consider additional measures to re-open the border in the near future, we are writing to ensure that the people of Ontario and all Canadians are well-positioned as jurisdictions around the world cautiously lift public health measures and international travel resumes," Minister of Health Christine Elliott and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones wrote in their letter to Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc on Sunday, July 25.
"It is critical for the integrity and confidence in Ontario's and Canada's vaccination programs, as well as for those who have done the right thing by acting consistent with guidance, that people who have received two doses of a Health Canada approved vaccine should be treated as immunized both at home and abroad," they continued.
"As the federal government opens international travel, we believe these Ontarians should also be considered 'fully immunized' by other countries both at international borders and in their activities within those jurisdictions."
The Ontario government is asking the feds to work alongside the World Health Organization to update its guidance "to international partners that mixing vaccines should be internationally accepted as a complete vaccine regimen." Elliott and Jones also mentioned that AstraZeneca/COVIDSHIELD should be internationally recognized as a valid vaccine on "any certificate or passport."
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada's plans to come up with an internationally recognized vaccine certificate for travellers to use abroad.
That being said, some Canadians faced complications while travelling to Barbados due to their mixed-and-matched COVID-19 vaccines, though the Barbadian government has since announced they will accept such fully-vaxxed travellers for a visit.
Health Canada has a robust website with all the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines and can answer any questions you may have.