Vaccination passports may be introduced in 2021: what are they

Now that COVID-19 vaccines are beginning to be distributed in the U.S. and abroad, many people have once again begun to dream of the day when they can travel, go shopping and go to the movies again. But in order to complete these steps, you may need something other than a vaccination—a vaccination passport. Writes about this CNN.

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Several companies and technology groups have begun to develop smartphone apps to enable people to upload their COVID-19 and vaccination tests, creating digital credentials that can be displayed when entering concert venues, stadiums, cinemas, offices, or even when entering other countries.

The Common Trust Network, an initiative of the Geneva-based non-profit organization The Commons Project and the World Economic Forum, has partnered with several airlines including Cathay Pacific, JetBlue, Lufthansa, Swiss Airlines, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, as well as hundreds of healthcare representatives ...

application commonpasscreated by the group, allows users to upload medical data such as COVID-19 test result or proof of vaccination from a hospital or healthcare professional, health certificate. Also, this data can be transmitted in the form of a QR code, which can be demonstrated without disclosing confidential information. For travel, the application will indicate the requirements at the points of departure and arrival, depending on the route.

“When you cross the border, you will be able to get tested every time, but not get vaccinated,” said Thomas Crampton, director of marketing and communications for the Commons Project. He stressed the need for a simple and easily transferable set of credentials, or “digital yellow card,” referring to the document typically issued as proof of vaccination.

On the subject: Some countries are already introducing immune passports: what you need to know

Large tech companies are also involved in this process. IBM has developed a proprietary app called the Digital Health Pass that allows businesses and institutions to customize the metrics they need to enter territory, including COVID-19 tests, body temperature screening, and vaccination records.

In trying to solve the one problem of getting back to normal after widespread vaccine deployment, developers may now have to face other challenges, ranging from privacy issues to the effectiveness of various vaccines.

But the most pressing challenge may be simply to avoid the controversial success of technology's previous attempt to address the public health crisis: contact tracing apps.

Early in the pandemic, Apple and Google ditched the smartphone rivalry and jointly developed a Bluetooth-based system to notify users if they encountered someone with COVID-19. Many countries and state governments around the world have also developed and used their own applications.

“I think the problem was more of a lack of federal leadership, with each state having to go it alone and decide this independently,” said Jenny Wanger, who leads exposure notification initiatives for the Linux Foundation Public Health, a tech organization that helps health authorities around the world to fight COVID-19.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

This time, to foster better coordination, the Linux Foundation has partnered with the COVID-19 Credentials Initiative, a collective of more than 300 people representing dozens of organizations on five continents, and is working with IBM and CommonPass to help develop a set of universal standards for vaccination data applications.

“If we are successful, everyone with a vaccination passport will not only be able to cross the border, but also attend a concert or other event where vaccination will be required,” said Brian Behlendorf, executive director of the Linux Foundation.

“An app needs to be universal in the same way that email is, in the same way that the Internet is,” he said.

However, most of the world's population still does not use smartphones or have access to them.

Several companies under the COVID-19 Accounting Initiative are also developing a smart card that is a middle ground between traditional paper vaccine certificates and an online version that is easier to store and reproduce.

On the subject: COVID passport may become mandatory for air travel: what kind of document it is

“It is important to us that people can provide information not only through smartphones, but also in other ways. This is designed for those people who do not have access to stable internet and also do not have smartphones,” said Lucy Young. “We're doing it, and there are companies doing really promising work.”

Once a vaccination passport is created, companies will need to make sure people are comfortable using it. This means overcoming concerns about the processing of private health information.

CommonPass, IBM and the Linux Foundation have emphasized the importance of privacy in their initiatives. IBM says the app will allow users to control and consent to the use of their health data, and will also allow them to choose the level of detail of the information they want to provide to authorities.

“Trust and transparency remain paramount when developing a platform such as a digital health passport, or any solution that handles sensitive personal information,” the company said. “Putting privacy first is an important priority for data management and analysis during these challenging times.”

Since vaccines are produced by several companies in several countries at different stages of development, passport manufacturers must take this into account.

On the subject: Coronavirus immunity passports: why are they needed and how can they harm society

“The port of entry — whether it's a border, a venue — will want to know whether you've received the Pfizer vaccine or whether you've had the Russian vaccine,” Crampton said. The difference can be significant: the vaccine developed by Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm, for example, is 86% effective, while those made by Pfizer and Moderna are about 95% effective.

It's also unclear how effective vaccines are in preventing transmission of the virus, says Dr. Julie Parsonnet, an infectious disease specialist at Stanford University.

“We still don’t know whether vaccinated people can transmit the virus,” she said. “Until this is cleared up, we won’t know whether the passports will work.”

However, Belendorf expects the rollout and adoption of vaccination passports to happen fairly quickly once things fall into place, and expects various applications that can work with each other to be “widely available” in the first half of 2021.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• All US residents vaccinated against coronavirus will receive vaccination cards.
• Alan Joyce, the head of the Australian airline Qantas Airlines, believes that in the future COVID-19 vaccination certificate will become mandatory for everyone who wants to travel.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Some countries are already introducing immune passports: what you need to know

COVID passport may become mandatory for air travel: what kind of document it is

'Fragile and short-lived': experts doubt the reliability of immunity to coronavirus

Permanently or permanently: for how long can complications remain after coronavirus?

Coronavirus immunity passports: why are they needed and how can they harm society

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