The Case for Vaccine Passports

Rather like the passports of today, these would function as verifiable, credible, digitised records of inoculation that will be accepted across countries and enable one to bypass quarantine requirements

- Shaan Katari Libby

THIS pandemic has brought with it a new set of words/ terms that we never used before: “Social distancing” “flattening the curve”, and more recently, “vaccine passports”. What is a vaccine passport? Well, despite the normal conclusion one draws from the word “passport”, this is not just for international travel. It is a certificate given to an individual who has been vaccinated against a virus—these could be a stamp or even a digital document on a smartphone to prove the person is “safe”. Such a mobile app with a barcode will show a person’s vaccination status, possibly check entry requirements for a country and hold information on your last Covid-19 test and other health information.

Over the longer term, rather like the passports of today, these would function as verifiable, accepted, credible digitised records of inoculation that will be accepted across countries and enable one to bypass quarantine requirements. It would also provide a record of whether people have natural immunity after having been ill with Covid-19. Such a document could become mandatory for more than just travel; everywhere from cinemas to malls, supermarkets or restaurants could require them before permitting entry to customers. This idea has drawn criticism for scientific shortcomings and the fact that two classes would evolve. There are also serious concerns about data protection.