(Bloomberg) --

The U.K.’s refusal to recognize Covid-19 vaccines administered in most parts of the world tells other countries it isn’t ready to work internationally on ways to end the pandemic, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

One upshot is that a person in Africa who received a vaccine distributed by the U.K. won’t be recognized as such by the donor country. 

“If you send us vaccines and we use those vaccines, and you say you don’t recognize people that have been immunized, it sends a very challenging message for us,”  John Nkengasong, the Africa CDC’s director, told reporters Thursday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

His comments add to mounting criticism of the U.K.’s latest border policy, which states visitors will only be classified as vaccinated if they got doses in select countries such as the U.S., Australia and Israel. The rule applies even if the person received a shot approved and used in the U.K., such as versions produced by Pfizer Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc.  

“It’s a message that creates confusion within our own population and a message that doesn’t really speak to solidarity and cooperation,” Nkengasong said. “We completely don’t understand why the U.K. has taken this position.”

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