The director-general of the World Health Organization defended the controversial decision made by numerous countries to roll out coercive vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rebel News publisher Ezra Levant caught up with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus outside of the entrance to the World Economic Forum during its annual summit in Davos, Switzerland, where he questioned the WHO chief whether the divisive policy had merit, given the vaccine's inefficiency at preventing transmission.

“I think countries have the right to decide based on the risk, the situation in their countries,” Tedros said, declining to answer Levant's follow-up question about whether he would do anything differently if given the chance.

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A 2022 document from the WHO examining the ethical considerations surrounding vaccine mandates suggested “policy makers should use less intrusive means or methods to encourage voluntary vaccination against COVID-19 before contemplating mandatory vaccination.”

The paper suggested “mandates should be considered only after people have been given the opportunity to get vaccinated voluntarily and/or once there is sufficient reason to believe this alone will not be enough to achieve important societal or institutional objectives.”

It concluded that mandatory vaccinations “should be supported by the best available evidence and should be made by legitimate decision-makers in a manner that is transparent, just, fair and non-discriminatory and involves the input of affected parties.”

Follow all of Rebel News' on-the-ground coverage this week from the World Economic Forum at WEFReports.com.