Seafarers to be given Covid vaccine priority

The updated guidance for Stage II of its vaccine roadmap from the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) says that, “Seafarers and air crews who work on vessels that carry goods and no passengers, with special attention to seafarers who are stranded at sea and prevented from crossing international borders for crew change due to travel restrictions.”

IMO Secretary General Kitack Lim said that he was glad that the WHO recognises the importance of vaccinating seafarers on cargo ships. “These individuals are responsible for transporting over 80% of all goods around the world, including food, medicine and vaccine supplies – and have continued to do so despite extremely challenging circumstances,” he said.

The IMO has made a number of calls for priority vaccination for seafarers this year, including issuing a joint statement with other UN organisations in March 2021 calling for seafarers and aircrew to be prioritised.

In May, IMO adopted a resolution which encouraged priority vaccination for seafarers in national Covid-19 vaccination programmes and Secretary-General Lim called on all IMO member states to designate seafarers as ‘key workers’ and support a fair global distribution of vaccines.