Digital Vaccination Passports Onroll To Kickstart International Travel

[Anta Assamey]

The only thing that’s certain in the pandemic is uncertainty. The coronavirus pandemic has turned the world upside down. The airline industry and travel as a whole have been pummeled. As the pandemic fades and the economy will hopefully get moving again, that demand will rebound. But how quickly? It won’t be overnight. It will take years for travel to return to its pre-pandemic levels.

But to those who are keen to avoid losing immediate holiday revenue to the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union, some Asian governments and the airline industry are scrambling to develop COVID-19 vaccine passports to help kickstart international travel. Vaccine passports already exist. Some countries require a yellow fever vaccination certificate before you can enter that country. Airlines eager to relaunch services will certainly expect Covid documentation before allowing the passenger to board aircraft.

This documentation may include proof of a negative test or proof of vaccination. Currently, the officials are working on simplified methods that would allow travellers to use mobile phone apps to prove they’ve been vaccinated. The UK is vivid with its idea of having vaccine passports. The NHSX is a joint unit of NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care. They are currently working on options for a vaccine passport. Cabinet minister Michael Gove has been briefing a cross-party group of MPs with a project update.

One government option could be to include vaccine certification in an NHS app including mobile phones. Indeed, the UK government is funding a variety of projects. The Israeli government has made the most progress. It has given vaccinated citizens a ‘Green Pass’ enabling them to use leisure facilities including gyms and hotels. Vaccine passports have implications for UK residents. These include access to public buildings, domestic or international travel as well the relationship between citizens and the state. The concept is also largely beneficial for tourists to escape dispensable quarantine requirements at their destinations.

There are the implication for enforcement and the use of working internet-enabled mobile phone. Vaccination passports would add another digital layer to the multitude of existing coronavirus health and contact tracing apps many countries and U.S. states have rolled out. The first part of a vaccination passport is the user’s official or approved electronic immunization record. The European Union, China and Japan are all working on their own digital vaccination certificates for cross-border travel. Talking about the people who don’t have smartphones or families that don’t have a device for each member, IATA and EU officials reacted that they are working on solutions, including paper-based options.