b'COVID-19 VACCINE VARIATIONBy Andrew BrooksA wide-ranging mix of vaccine protocolsacross the globe stands to impact relocating employees T he COVID-19 pandemic has been the perfect stormaccepted in another, potentially limiting freedom of movement for almost any way you look at it, but its probably beenrelocated employees.especially perfect for the mobility profession. Its worldwide in scope, hard on cross-border travel, andFor instance, an employee based in a developing country may individual countries have adopted a bewildering andadhere to the vaccination protocoland typeapproved in his ever-changing array of countermeasures, including outright bansor her home country. How does their employer address this? Do on visitors from other nations. they fly them back for boosters? Will they have access to restau-rants and gyms in their host country? The good news is that the strong push for vaccinations across the globe has been successful and there are finally signs of aThen there is the varied approach to mixing vaccines: while return to business travel. The bad news is that every country hasaccepted in Canada as standard, other countries have been slow introduced its own vaccination protocolboth for residents andto approve the mixing vaccines protocol. This too could impact incoming travellersresulting in a hodgepodge mix of regulationsemployees movement and work abroad.that relocators have to sift through for their global clients. While efforts are underway to develop global vaccine passports There are a host of potential dilemmas that can result from thisbased on common protocolsIATAs Travel Pass Initiative being divergent approach, starting with a higher health risk in thosethe most notable examplefor the time being the variation in countries slow with vaccine distribution and adoption. Yet even inapproach from one country to the next continues to be a major countries that have climbed on the vaccine bandwagon, you mayproblem. That said, there is an increasing willingness to follow the have a vaccine distributed in one country that is not recognized orWorld Health Organizations (WHO) list of approved vaccines, 24PERSPECTIVES Winter 2021'