WHO says vaccine mandates should be temporary

The World Health Organization issued a word of warning to governments on Wednesday, noting that mandatory vaccination should be a "last resort" in the pandemic.

"Many people who are hesitant about taking vaccines have genuine questions that need to be answered," said Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme.

Ryan called for vaccine mandates to "be clear, be explicit, and time-limited." They must also be "accompanied by the appropriate risk communication and clarification," he added.

"We see mandates as the last resort in the face ... of a large epidemic in which we know that vaccines will save lives," the public health expert said, giving the Delta and Omicron outbreaks of coronavirus as examples.

Governments should weigh up the benefits of vaccination against "the disruption to any individual right or individual freedom," he noted.