WHO and ICAO call for aircrew priority in vaccine rollout

The WHO and ICAO have joined forces with other UN bodies to urge that aircrew, along with seafarers, be given priority in vaccination rollouts. A joint statement from the WHO, ICAO, the ILO, the IMO and the IOM asserts that seafarers and aircrew are essential for global supply chains and play a key role in the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The organisations have previously called for seafarers and aircrew to be classed as key workers and in the new statement say they are asking governments to prioritise them in national vaccination programmes. “Seafarers and aircrew need to be protected through vaccination as soon as possible, to facilitate their safe movement across borders,” runs the 25 March statement. Airlines lobby group Airlines for Europe has agreed, calling on Twitter for European governments to prioritise vaccination of essential aviation workers. According to the UN organisations, applying public health rules such as quarantines to aircrew has led to “hindered connectivity, operational complexity and significant cost”.<br/>