New Global Vaccine Passport Mandate

The work carried out by the Vaccination Credential Initiative, a coalition of technology and health companies to develop a vaccination passport, is increasingly being seen as essential if we are to return to normality. The passport would be an electronic document in an app (with the possibility of generating a hard copy with a QR code for verification) that would prove that the holder has been immunized against COVID-19.

The document, equivalent to the so-called Yellow Card (International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis) used for travel to countries that require proof of yellow fever vaccination, would be required for activities ranging from travel to work, study, or for access to all kinds of events, and would provide details about the holder’s immunization status: type of vaccine, dose or date of inoculation, thus ensuring that registration is carried out with a standard model for organizations that administer COVID-19 vaccines, so that the credentials can be made available in an accessible and interoperable digital format.

The Vaccination Credential initiative comes amid the likelihood that some airlines and countries will require proof of vaccination certificates, the challenge being to avoid the use of fake documentation. The idea is to leverage enough leadership to create a global digital registry that is reliable, traceable, verifiable and that will allow us to return safely to work, school, events, and travel.

The possibility of creating immunity passports was criticized early in the pandemic by some scientists, analysts, and the World Health Organization because of the many uncertainties regarding immunity. However, it appears that these concerns were largely related to acting too early: now, after the approved vaccines have been found to offer adequate levels of protection, the concern is now largely an ethical one: what to do about people who refuse to be vaccinated? In response, it has been pointed out that vaccination certificates for people coming from or traveling to certain countries have been required for several decades.
Vaccination Passports Are The Only Way We Can Return To Normality

As private companies, airlines may require a vaccination test, in the same way that some require a PCR test, and countries may also consider it an entry requirement. The problem with this is that, in many cases, proof of having tested negative is simply a piece of paper with a stamp, which can easily be forged. Bringing such documents into a centralized electronic registry is, at this point, a simple matter of common sense.

The question, of course, is to what extent the world is able to develop and accept a truly global initiative for a need such as this; the alternative, as has happened with traceability apps is hundreds of isolated and non-interoperable initiatives.

Other decisions, such as requiring these certificates to enter office buildings, a campus or even a movie theater, will depend on each country’s legislation, but should be accommodated to the imperative need to avoid creating natural reservoirs for the virus:

with millions of vaccines already administered worldwide, fears about their safety sounds more and more like denial or an excuse.

If you want to be part of society, you should be ready to prove that you aren’t a danger to it.

To what extent should a society protect those who are willing to become a vector for the spread of a dangerous disease?

If we accept showing proof of vaccination for yellow fever when we travel to certain countries, what’s the problem with doing so to help tackle a pandemic that has already killed more than two million people?