Vaccination against Covid-19 will be the most powerful passport in the world in 2021.
Almost a month after the approval of the first vaccine against the new coronavirus by the European Medicines Agency, thousands of European Union citizens have already received the injection.
According to initial estimates, with the millions of vaccines already acquired, the world could become immune to Covid-19 by 2023.
The economies of most countries in the world are on their knees and the sector most affected is travel and tourism, which for many countries is the pillar that sustains them. Especially in Italy, where tourism represents 13% of GDP.
How the website writes SchengenVisaInfo, these industries cannot wait for the entire world to become immune to Covid-19 to restart their businesses.
This is why many countries are already working on “vaccination passports” to allow travel and tourism to resume.
An EU official also told the website last year that, in the event of a vaccine being discovered, proof of vaccination would also be required for a visa application a Schengen and for visa-free entry.
Now, ten months later, the latest country to announce its plans to reintroduce a document showing that its holder has been vaccinated against COVID-19 is Denmark.
Countries work to introduce “vaccination passport”
The Danish Ministry of Health and Senior Citizens announced in early January that it is working on a “vaccination passport” for Danish travelers, which will soon be available to all Danish citizens who are vaccinated.
The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, even sent a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, urging the Commission to present a Coronavirus vaccination certificate to facilitate travel between the bloc.
Other countries, such as Iceland and Hungary, are already enforcing the requirement for so-called “immunity passports”, which, in essence, is proof that the traveler was previously infected with COVID-19 (but is no longer), and now he have antibodies in your body.
WHO does not (yet) recommend
The World Health Organization (WHO) does not “at present” recommend the introduction of a health passport certifying the professional status of Covid vaccination. This is what can be read on the UN agency's website, in the document approved at the end of the sixth meeting of the Emergency Committee.
“At this time” it is advisable not to introduce vaccination requirements or proof of immunity for international travel as a condition of entry, as there remain critical unknowns about the effectiveness of vaccination in reducing transmission “along with” limited availability of vaccines”, read- if.
“Evidence of vaccination should not exempt international travelers from complying with other travel risk reduction measures”, he adds.
A coalition of technology companies and health organizations announced that they are working on a digital vaccination certificate, which can be used on smartphones to show evidence of having received the anti-Covid-19 serum.
A Vaccination Credential Initiative (Vci), this is the name of the foundation, includes Mayo Clinic, Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce.
Companies are planning a solution to obtain digital credentials — which some call vaccination “passports” — to help people return to their jobs, schools, events and travel.
The group said it has developed standards for encrypted digital copies of vaccination credentials, which can be stored in a digital wallet on smartphones.
In Ireland, the ROQU Group launched the “Health Passport” digital platform, which provides test results so that companies can operate in a controlled and safe environment.
