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Some countries want to issue a "covid passport", but is it a good idea?

2021-04-02T01:49:32.892Z


Amid a massive vaccination campaign against the coronavirus, some have advocated immunity passports for free mobility.


The US does not yet plan to impose a vaccination passport 2:42

(CNN Spanish) -

With a global vaccination program underway and after a year of confinements and distancing measures due to the threat of contagion by covid-19, many countries have proposed to implement an "immunity passport" for those who are vaccinated.

The proposal is not well received by some, who cite concerns about unequal access to vaccines and even because it is still too early to know if a vaccinated person is fully immune to the virus and how long that immunity lasts.

What does it consist of?

A "health passport", "immunity passport" or "covid passport" is a document issued by the authorities of a country where it is certified that the carrier has already been vaccinated, as in the case of Israel, using a green passport that allows access to stadiums, theaters or swimming pools, only to those who have been inoculated.

  • The 'immunity passports' are here.

    But they come with caveats

Israelis can carry the 'green pass' on their cell phone or as a physical document.

At the entrance of the places that require this certificate, the QR codes are scanned.

(Credit: JACK GUEZ / AFP / Getty Images)

The move, of course, generates controversy, but other countries are going this way.

South Korea will launch a smartphone app vaccination certificate system this month, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Thursday.

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The government developed the application to boost the economy by facilitating the daily activity of those vaccinated.

"I hope maybe it can be used for business trips abroad or for travel," Chung added.

Chung noted that international use of such a system, including travel bubbles, is still in an early research phase.

Denmark is another of the countries that has announced it will implement a "covid passport", amid a need to reopen part of its economy frozen by the pandemic and reopen the borders to foreign travelers who have already been inoculated.

There are at least four ready-to-use solutions generally based on two types of technology.

One of them based on remote cloud servers where information is stored in bulk.

The other uses blockchain, a more complicated system that could be better at protecting privacy.

But since personal medical data is so sensitive, it's a tough decision.

This is why many European nations covered by strict European Union privacy laws seem desperate for someone else to go first.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/covid-19-vaccination-passports-denmark/index.html

Denmark plans to launch digital vaccination passport 0:33

"Health passports", an "ethically risky" idea

The issuance of the so-called "covid passports" or "health passports" has not been widely accepted so far, and not many think it is a good idea.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has ruled on natural immunity passports (obtained after being infected) and advises against them, citing the lack of evidence that “people who have recovered from covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection. '

In the past, WHO noted that such certificates can cause people to "ignore public health advice", thus "increasing the risks of ongoing transmission."

In mid-March 2021, however, he spoke about vaccination certificates.

The WHO said it was working on a "smart digital certificate", which according to the WHO director in Europe, Hans Kluge, is different from a "vaccine passport."

“We strongly recommend, as with any vaccine, that there is documentation, either on paper or preferably digital.

And that is why WHO is working on a smart digital certificate, ”Kluge said.

But this is something different from a passport.

At this stage, we do not recommend that getting vaccinated is what determines whether or not you can travel internationally.

It shouldn't be a requirement, ”Kluge said.

Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior researcher at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told CNN columnist David A. Andelman that the proposal could hit low-income countries the hardest.

"It is an ethically risky proposition given the profound disparities in which countries have access to covid vaccines," Nuzzo said.

“To demand a vaccine passport would be to impose a sanction on countries that have not been able to obtain vaccines.

This penalty will be felt more by low-income countries, as high-income countries have the greatest access to vaccines.

Alert in the European Union due to the increase in covid-19 cases 4:14

"Vaccination passport" in the European Union

The comments from the WHO director in Europe come at a time when the European Commission revealed its intention to issue a "green digital certificate" or vaccine passport, to allow free mobility between European Union countries during the pandemic.

The European Union Green Digital Certificate will be valid in all EU Member States, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

It will use a QR code with a digital signature to protect against counterfeiting.

It will be issued by hospitals, test centers or health authorities, but the data should be verifiable throughout the European Union via a digital link.

For Kluge, there are a couple of reasons why a vaccine passport is not a good idea:

First an ethical reason: “There is a global shortage of vaccines.

So this would increase inequities, and if there is one thing we learned from the covid-19 pandemic, it is that vulnerable people were hit disproportionately.

Second, he said, there is a scientific reason: "We are still not sure how long immunity lasts" and whether people who have been vaccinated can still transmit the infection.

Pfizer announced this week that its vaccine, which it produces in conjunction with BioNTech, offers protection for at least 6 months.

The WHO also distinguishes between certificate and passport as a practical reason: since WHO is working within an "international framework of trust, we have to document whether people received the vaccine"

The certification scheme will need the support of all 27 member states and would be introduced in June.

Amid concerns from countries like Belgium and Germany that it could result in discrimination, European Union leaders have tried to bolster trust.

The disparity in vaccination in many countries could affect the travel freedoms of many who have not yet received the coronavirus vaccine, either because of the vaccination stages they are in or because, as in many countries, there are not enough vaccines available. .

In addition, the WHO has also expressed serious concerns about the risk that vaccination passports create a two-tier society divided between those who have already been vaccinated and those who have not or cannot access it.

Kluge, the WHO director for Europe, added that the lack of clarity about how long immunity lasts meant that vaccination certification was not a guarantee of fitness to travel, as was uncertainty about whether the inoculate can transmit the virus.

The countries that bet on a passport for free movement

Israel, which has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, is already using a "green pass" to open restaurants, bars, venues and events.

Denmark proposed something similar with tourism officials who recently said that ensuring a "summer of joy" is essential.

Meanwhile, some airlines are adopting certification to ensure passengers are virus-free.

Australian airline Qantas has started testing the CommonPass system, which will be required for overseas travel when Australia's border is reopened.

Other airlines are signing up for a digital pass created by the International Air Transport Association, IATA, that will allow passengers to upload a negative covid test certification to allow smoother passage through airports.

Austria

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is one of the supporters of the "green passport" in the European Union, for people who have protection against the coronavirus.

"We need a 'green passport' for everyone who has been vaccinated or has immunity, because they have just been through the coronavirus or have undergone a new (negative) test," Kurz told reporters at the end of February.

And, if it is not approved, it will seek "a common path with as many states in the neighborhood and beyond as possible."

Tourism in Austria forms an important part of the country's economy, Kurz said, and therefore believes that the introduction of such a green passport is "extremely important."

Canada

Canada is one of the last countries to put the discussion on the vaccination passport on the table.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in mid-March that his government is exploring the idea of ​​requiring vaccine passports for those visiting Canada from abroad, but appeared to rule out such a passport for immunity for domestic travel.

"For home use, making the difference between people who are vaccinated or not, recognizing that not everyone will be able to get vaccinated for different reasons, raises questions of equality and justice, so I think we must be very careful to move forward" Trudeau said during a news conference in Ottawa.

"... internationally, the idea of ​​vaccine credentials, I think, is something that is very worth considering."

Chile

And in the region, in April 2020 the Chilean government had promoted the delivery of a "registration card" for people who have recovered from the coronavirus "because they would correspond to a population immune to the virus and incapable of transmitting it," according to the Ministry of Health.

However, the idea did not prosper: "We have decided to postpone the delivery of the Covid Card, to avoid cases of discrimination against people who have it," said then-Minister of Health Jaime Mañalich in May 2020.

- With information from CNN's Nina dos Santos, Antonia Mortensen, Susanne Gargiulo, Scott McLean, Florence Davey-Attlee, Sharon Braithwaite and Jake Kwon.

And José Levy from CNN en Español.

Covid-19Covid passportCoronavirus vaccine

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-04-02

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