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As the UK moves closer to easing its coronavirus lockdowns, attention turns to how we might safely mix again and what role technology could play.
And despite previous denials that a “Covid passport” application was being considered, it is now on the agenda.
After all the hoo-ha and cost of building the contact tracing apps last year, you might think this is a very courageous decision.
But earlier this week, The Times reported that the facility would be integrated with the existing NHS app used to access health services in England.
It is separate from the NHS Covid-19 app used by England and Wales to warn people if they may have been recently infected, and fewer people have downloaded it.
But according to Google’s own numbers, it’s been installed on over a million Android devices (Apple doesn’t share stats for iOS), which is a decent start.
Officially, Downing Street says the issue is still under review and that it does not want to prejudge anything by speculating on the subject.
But it is clear that there would be several advantages.
Security checks
First, the NHS app, which only serves patients in England, already connects to users’ GP services to allow smartphone owners to access their medical records.
In fact, he may already provide a record as to whether some people have received any of the coronavirus injections, if the general surgeries involved have shared the information.
(Confusingly, this sometimes shows up under the Drugs tab rather than the Immunizations tab if you’ve had an injection and want to check yourself).
Health chiefs would therefore not need to build a new IT infrastructure to obtain the information.
Second, the app has already fixed a lot of security issues.
To set it up, you need to provide your NHS number, email address, phone number, and then upload an image of your passport or driver’s license.
The smartphone then scans your face to verify that it matches the characteristics of the image on your official ID.
And then, along with the automated checks, there is a human review before you are granted access.
QR codes
However, there are still issues to be resolved.
People would need to access the certificate without having to navigate through multiple menus – possibly via a button at the bottom of the screen.
Then, the information should be presented in a format that someone else can check quickly and easily.
Another health pass app shows how this could be done.
Tested.me displays a scannable barcode on an image of the user’s face to provide employers with a way to track the health status of their staff.
Of course, if the NHS app adopts a similar scheme, more software will need to be developed so that establishments can verify a person’s barcode when they present it.
And there are other hurdles to overcome to prevent people who have not yet been vaccinated from simply passing a screenshot of someone else’s code, with their own face changed, to access a place.
This presupposes that it would be acceptable for businesses and other organizations to deny people access to a place or place of work if they have not been vaccinated.
And it should be borne in mind that while vaccines reduce the risk of a person falling seriously ill from at least some of the variants of Covid-19, it is still unclear what impact they will have on those infected and transmitting the virus.
So the purpose of having such an app might only be to demonstrate that you are unlikely to be seriously ill upon entering an area, rather than to prove that you are not a threat to others.
Travelling abroad
Another consideration is that these “passports” would probably not be used for travel abroad.
The World Health Organization is studying the specifications needed for an international program to operate across borders and support immunization programs in different countries.
He already oversees an international certificate of vaccination against yellow fever.
And the requirements of such a system may be different from those used by the NHS application.
A final question is whether the government would allow third-party applications to operate its system to offer their own specialty vaccine certificates.
These would be personalized for use in certain workplaces or leisure activities, where details could be stored alongside ticketing or other relevant non-health related data.
Identity verification technology provider iProov, whose facial scanning software is already integrated with the NHS app, is among those keen to do so.
Its chief executive, Andrew Bud, pointed out that the NHS already has a mechanism in place for private apps to access records of GPs subject to strict security requirements.
But whether ministers would like to complicate matters by allowing multiple ways to present a vaccination passport is another question.
In any case, speaking to sources within NHSX – the division likely to be responsible for any digital certificate involving the NHS application in England – one thing becomes evident: Discussions about what would be involved are at a stage. very early.
And that means it will be several months before the idea of presenting an app to door staff to prove you’ve been tricked has any chance to come true.
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