Many people are optimistic that the vaccine rollout will allow us to return to our pre-pandemic “normal.” This would imply regaining the “freedom” to travel wherever they want for a certain privileged group of people.
A new form of “vaccine apartheid” is set to emerge in countries which will probably receive and distribute vaccines much later.
Privileged tourists with vaccines will feel secure enough to travel to these countries but will still pose a danger to local people since vaccines are unknown to prevent the transmission of the virus by inoculated individuals.
Unvaccinated local workers would face the risk of contracting COVID-19 and be forced to take on exploitative jobs in the tourism industry in order to serve foreigners.
To protect workers in touristic hotspots, considerable precautions are required until a significant proportion of the world’s population is vaccinated. Governments willing to restart tourism engines and cash-strapped families may not, however, view this as a priority.
