Covid passports are coming, but they’re not that easy to build

The Biden administration said this week it would not create a national vaccination app, leaving it to the private sector to create mobile digital passports that can prove people have been vaccinated against Covid-19.

But that doesn’t mean the White House is going to be abandoned.

The technologists and consultants who are helping design future digital vaccine cards have said they are counting on the Biden administration to provide federal support for the effort, even as officials work mostly behind the scenes to shape related decisions. to privacy or where vaccine passports could be deployed. .

“This is something that cannot be driven exclusively by the private sector,” said Dakota Gruener, executive director of ID2020, a nonprofit group that works on digital ID and is part of a collaboration on health passes.

A rush has been developing for months among big tech companies, nonprofits and state agencies to try to invent a secure electronic method to store and share vaccination records and coronavirus test results – in short, something more sophisticated and private than a photo of a paper vaccine card.

An immunization passport can display a QR code that a business can scan to verify immunization status, or it can display something simpler like a green check mark or a red X.

But different projects face a plethora of challenges, including how to avoid fake recordings, how to protect health privacy, and how to make sure different apps work with each other. Decisions on these issues could resonate for years, said Jenny Wanger, director of programs at the Linux Foundation Public Health, a nonprofit that advises on the development of core standards.

“What’s really needed to get things done is to make sure it works, to make sure things are interoperable, and to make sure we’re not going forward with the philosophy. ‘go fast and break things,’ “Wanger said, referring to an old motto on Facebook.

“If you compromise on some of these fundamentals like confidentiality and open standards, it’s very difficult to make those kinds of decisions go away,” she said.

Experts said they expect strong demand for digital evidence of vaccination in the coming months. Businesses as diverse as airlines, office employers or even Krispy Kreme donut stores might ask to see evidence before allowing entry or serving a customer. Outside the United States, Qatar Airways and other airlines have tested an app to provide proof of vaccination and negative test results.

Madison Square Garden was one of the testing sites for the Excelsior Pass, a New York State effort based on IBM technology. And Walmart has said that people who have been vaccinated in thousands of its stores will be able to get a digital vaccine card.

“What it really is is putting health data in a secure digital envelope,” said Paul Meyer, CEO of The Commons Project, a nonprofit that developed the technology used by Walmart and some airlines.

Meyer said the airline tests had been successful – Lufthansa said on Wednesday it was expanding the use of the CommonPass app to display test results – but large-scale adoption will require more and more effort. supported.

“There is a huge difference between testing and full operations. A whole different ball game,” he said.

In other words, it could be months more before vaccine passports are widely available and used in the United States.

Eren Bali, CEO of California-based Carbon Health, said his company provides digital vaccine records to people it immunizes and that 600,000 people have viewed them. He is now looking to expand the offer and make the cards compatible with different smartphone “wallets”.

“Wherever you’ve been vaccinated in the United States, we’ll be able to give you a verified medical pass,” Bali said.

Rutgers University of New Jersey has said it will require proof of Covid-19 vaccination for most students before they can attend in-person classes this fall, although it has yet to say what types of evidence she would accept.

Each requirement can raise thorny questions, such as how to accommodate people who do not use a smartphone and therefore do not have a digital record. Some fear the development of a two-speed economy along vaccination lines, although Covid-19 vaccines are expected to be widely available as early as May.

There is also a growing outcry from some Republicans and Libertarians who have started to argue that vaccine passports are a violation of civil rights. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he would issue rules that would prevent companies from requiring proof of vaccination, although it is not known how much power he will have to stop the practice.

But there is a wide range of organizations and businesses that are at least trying to make passports an option. The Biden administration has counted at least 17 such efforts to tackle different parts of the problem, according to a government slide obtained by The Washington Post.

“Federal agencies independently participate ad hoc in various initiatives,” according to the slide from the Department of Health and Social Services.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a briefing Tuesday that the administration was not planning a central federal vaccine database, a role that for other types of vaccines had historically been performed by States.

“The development of a vaccine passport, or whatever you want to call it, will be led by the private sector,” Psaki said.

But she said the administration planned to issue recommendations at some point for digital vaccine certificates to meet certain standards. She didn’t give a timeline.

“We want to get the market to meet public policy goals, so we’ll leverage our resources to make sure all vaccination certificate systems meet key standards, whether it’s universal accessibility, affordable, available, both digitally and in print, ”she says.

The Biden administration may be called upon to help decide issues such as exactly when it is appropriate to ask someone for proof of vaccination, Gruener said.

“This is a place where the administration has to weigh in,” she said. “What are the settings or places where it is allowed to ask for proof of vaccination, and where is it not allowed?”

The same goes for the amount of health information a place or business can see.

“The only thing the concert hall bouncer needs to know is: does the person meet the entry criteria, yes or no?” Said Gruener. “It’s a place where I think the administration has an important role to play.”

There is also the issue of possible federal funding for state and local immunization registries. These agencies, which ultimately store a large portion of the country’s immunization records for purposes such as school attendance, have invested relatively little to make digital records widely available, and they may need upgrades if they are needed. want to work with Covid-19 passports.

“It’s not that states aren’t interested in the idea, but on the priority list it’s not the highest on the list,” said Rebecca Coyle, executive director of American Immunization. Registry Association, a membership organization for state and local vaccines. registers.

Digital immunization cards are already in use in Israel, where the national government and a centralized health care system have accelerated their development. European Union leaders have announced the development of a similar “digital green certificate”.

The US system is already freer, with many companies such as IBM testing early versions of digital certificates.

“We want to encourage an open market with a variety of private sector companies and nonprofit coalitions developing solutions,” Psaki said.