As the vaccine is distributed in several countries around the world, many people are hoping to return to somewhat normal. Due to this, there has been much more talk of creating “vaccine passports.” What exactly is a vaccine passport? Well here is what you need to know.
Vaccine passports are “essentially a verified way of showing that people have received immunizations,” as clarified by Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. This concept has been seen before in the form of vaccine cards. A vaccine card is a yellow paper that exhibits what vaccines a traveler has received. Vaccine cards have been used for travelers going to certain countries that require specific vaccinations in order to prevent the spread of fatal illnesses including yellow fever and tuberculosis. However, the difference with vaccine passports is that they may be required for more than just travel. They could be enforced for entering into public areas.
The benefits of vaccine passports are that people may finally be able to safely engage in pre-COVID activities. With the introduction of the vaccine, countries have felt more comfortable opening up their borders for tourism. Which not only is beneficial for nonessential travelers but especially for American jobs as well. The U.S. Travel Association, alongside 26 other organizations, signed a letter to the Biden administration urging a May 1 deadline to create a plan to reopen the nation to international guests. These organizations stated, “If nothing is done to lift international travel bans and bring back demand, the U.S. Travel Association estimates that a total of 1.1 million American jobs will not be restored and $262 billion in export spending will be lost by the end of 2021,” in their letter.
Additionally, creating vaccine passports may allow for the safe return of venues like concerts and sporting events. Which may in turn convince more people to get vaccinated in order to reap the added benefits.
The disadvantages of vaccine passports have mostly surrounded the concern of privacy. Citizens are worried that they would have to demonstrate their medical records in order to enter certain public spaces like movie theatres or restaurants. A major issue that has arisen is the question of whether it is fair to use vaccine passports as a way to exclude certain people from going to work or school. After hearing the recent news, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has vowed to ban the use of vaccine passports in the state. DeSantis stated, “It’s completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply participate in normal society.”
A further disadvantage that the vaccine passports have invoked is whether travel may really be safe. While the United States has dispensed millions of vaccines, there are many countries that have not done so yet. The World Health Organization has stated that “national authorities and conveyance operators should not introduce requirements of proof of COVID-19 vaccination for international travel as a condition for departure or entry, given that there are still critical unknowns regarding the efficacy of vaccination in reducing transmission.”
Several technology companies have now begun to develop smartphone apps that display people’s COVID-19 information. This way citizens are able to present their vaccination records, COVID-19 test results or other details when entering specific areas.
We are not quite sure when vaccine passports would become available if they were to be created. However, the Biden administration has clarified that they will not issue a federal mandate requiring every citizen to obtain one.
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