Ecuador will recognize all vaccine certificates issued overseas, health ministry says

All Covid-19 vaccine cards and certificates obtained in foreign countries will be recognized in Ecuador, the Ministry of Public Health said Tuesday. The Ministry said it wanted to clarify an earlier statement that vaccines administered abroad cannot be entered into the national health record.

The health ministry announced Tuesday that all vaccine certificates issued abroad will be recognized in Ecuador.

“Although we cannot verify foreign vaccines and cannot put them into our database, we will recognize them for entrance into the country and for use at events and establishments that require vaccines,” Health Minister Ximena Garzón said in her Twitter account. “We want to clear up any confusion caused by previous statements.”

The most important use of vaccines certificates issued abroad, Garzón said, is for entry into the country by air, land and sea. “As we emerge from the worst of the pandemic, we welcome all returning residents and foreign visitors and want to assure them that their vaccines will be recognized.”

Garzón said she regretted the decision of some countries, particularly in Europe and North America, to recognize some vaccines but not others. “I understand the importance of the local process for verifying the effectiveness and safety of vaccines but, at this point, we have the data that shows all of them work,” she said. “It is my hope that the international community comes together on uniform rules that does not punish those who have been inoculated with certain vaccines.”

In recent weeks, Ecuador has been recognized as one the countries with the lowest Covid infection rates in the world. The Health Ministry says it believes it will reach its goal of vaccinating more than 90 percent of the population by the end of the year.

On Monday, Ecuador’s Emergency Operations Committee announced that large public events will be allowed to resume October 30 if participants show a vaccine certificate or a recent negative PCR test.