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After months of costly closures, closed borders and restricted personal freedoms, the concept of vaccine passports is gaining traction with governments keen to chart their way through the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A number of countries, including China and Israel, have already rolled out their own forms of certification meant to facilitate future international travel or boost activity in hard-hit economic sectors, such as hospitality.
Several others are wondering whether to follow suit and embrace the idea of documentation for those who have been vaccinated against the new coronavirus.
Skeptics, meanwhile, warn that many possible side effects still need to be addressed.
Here’s what you need to know:
What is a vaccination passport?
A vaccine passport can generally be defined as a document proving that a person has been inoculated with a virus – in this case, SARS-CoV-2, also known as the novel coronavirus.
It can take the form of a signed and stamped certificate or a QR (Quick Response) code stored on a smartphone.
Israel has deployed a government-validated certificate known as the “ green pass, ” whereby people can prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or recovered. [File: Jack Guez/AFP]
The documents could become necessary for a range of activities from international travel to entry into theaters and restaurants, Dave Archard, chairman of the UK’s Nuffield Council on Bioethics, told Al Jazeera.
Proof of vaccination could also become a “discriminatory” condition of employment, he warned, or lead to a “two-tier society” in which people need papers to exercise certain social freedoms, such as access to public spaces or travel within countries.
Why are they discussing it?
As mass COVID-19 vaccination campaigns unfold at a steady pace in several countries, vaccine passports have become a potential tool to securely reopen borders for international travel and boost economic sectors devastated by debris. strict lock restrictions.
In theory, the ability to present proof of vaccination could provide a turning point in the pandemic, allowing countries to welcome vaccinated visitors en masse, and hard-hit businesses – especially those operating in the hotel industry – to resume operations without fear the virus.
In reality, however, there remain unanswered questions about how such documents would work in practice, and pressing concerns about their potential to exacerbate inequalities, erode deprivation, and possibly even hamper human rights. efforts to reduce COVID-19.
Where and how are they used?
Several countries have already rolled out their own versions of passports or vaccine certificates, despite the lack of global consensus on their use.
Israel, for example, has deployed a government-validated certificate known as the Green Pass, which allows people to prove that they have been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19, and therefore have presumed immunity.
The passes, which can be printed or stored on a smartphone, are valid for six months from the time of full vaccination. They allow incumbents to take part in an otherwise restricted range of activities, such as going to the gym, dining in restaurants or attending a theatrical performance, but with certain limitations.
The certificate could also allow holders to travel internationally and bypass quarantine requirements. Israel has already signed an agreement with Greece and Cyprus that allows citizens with COVID-19 vaccination certificates to travel unhindered between the three countries.
Discussion over vaccine passports fueled international rollout of COVID-19 vaccines [File: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters]
China has also introduced its own form of vaccination passport in the form of a certificate showing a person’s vaccination status and COVID-19 test results.
It is envisioned as a digital product but is also available in paper form and is being rolled out “to help promote global economic recovery and facilitate cross-border travel,” according to the country’s foreign ministry.
Bahrain has launched a similar product, while Denmark and Sweden are preparing to roll out their own certification systems. The European Union is considering a bloc-wide digital certificate providing proof of vaccination, which could make it easier for Europeans to travel in the coming warmer months.
What are the benefits and the risks?
Supporters of vaccine passports say they can be used to help safely resume mass international travel and unlock frozen economies.
Indeed, by proving that someone has been vaccinated against COVID-19 or recovered from it, vaccine passports theoretically indicate that an individual is not a potential vector of the virus or that he is himself. even at risk.
“They say you are no longer a danger, and that gives you certain privileges that you wouldn’t have if you are a danger. So having vaccine passports makes sense from that point of view, ”US Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz told Al Jazeera.
“But unless we are able to ensure that there is access to vaccines for everyone, it introduces significant inequality.”
Stiglitz’s warning is one of the most pressing concerns raised by skeptics about vaccine passports – that the gaping global inequity in access to doses means any rollout of certification would in turn lead to unfair discrimination against people living in countries with fewer vaccines.
Even as doses become more uniformly available globally, the current range of vaccines in use and their different rates of effectiveness reduce the prospect of creating any sort of uniform certification, Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at the ‘Imperial College London, told Al Jazeera.
“We have billions of people who have had no access to any vaccine or to vaccines in different countries that have very different immunogenicity and immunogenicity. [have been] tested in very different antibody tests. How can this create a single international documentation system? ” he said.
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