Here's all you need to know about vaccine passports

As economies open up and travel restrictions are eased by countries, international travel is back on the bucket list for many. As people get vaccinated, documenting the inoculation process is becoming even more relevant to facilitate international travel.

Vaccine passports, for example, are a popular way to approach proof of immunity with jab rollouts underway across the globe. Currently, several countries and airlines mandate proof that international passengers are not infected by the coronavirus.

What is a vaccine passport?

The concept of a vaccine passport is not new. The idea will be an update to the ‘yellow card‘, also known as the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis. International Certificate of Vaccination is a World Health Organization-approved document listing all your past inoculations.

While some nations have started accepting proof of inoculations, however, a universally accepted system is yet to emerge. A vaccine passport could prove beneficial for hard-hit tourism and airline industries. A vaccine passport is not exactly a passport, but a mobile application. Passengers can download the application on their smartphones and enter details of their COVID-19 test results and vaccination information.

Concerns

However, with a lack of vaccine access around the world and mounting concerns over data privacy, questions are swirling about how the measures will work in practice.

On concerns of availability of vaccines, a senior World Health Organisation official saying that so-called ‘vaccine passports’ for COVID-19 should not be used for international travel because of numerous concerns, including ethical considerations that coronavirus vaccines are not easily available globally, according to the Associated Press.

At a press briefing on March 8, WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan said there are “real practical and ethical considerations” for countries considering using vaccine certification as a condition for travel, adding the UN health agency advises against it for now. “Vaccination is just not available enough around the world and is not available certainly on an equitable basis,” Ryan said.

Implementation

The International Air Transport Association’s Travel Pass is an example of a vaccine passport. With this app, IATA aims to provide governments with the confidence to reopen borders without imposing quarantines on incoming travelers. Singapore Airlines (SIA) will be the world’s first airline to pilot the IATA’s Travel Pass mobile application for digital health verification, starting with passengers travelling from Singapore to London from March 15 to 28, 2021. This marks the second phase of SIA’s digital health verification process trials, which is based on the IATA Travel Pass framework.

JoAnn Tan, Acting Senior Vice President Marketing Planning, Singapore Airlines, said: “The first phase of the trials helped to support SIA’s drive towards a secure and convenient industry standard for the verification of COVID-19 test results, and the health status of passengers including their vaccination status, in the future.

“That gives us the confidence that in the second phase, we can further streamline the verification process for eventual integration into SIA’s mobile application. This will help to provide a hassle-free digital solution for our customers in the new normal, and help to bring about a more seamless travel experience.”

However, because of current regulations, travelers will still need to carry a physical copy of their health certificate issued by the testing clinic.