The conversation
Vaccination passports may be on the way – but is it cause for hope or concern?
Israeli meals with a ‘green pass’ can enjoy a meal with friends Emmanuel Dunand / AFP via Getty Images. After a year of canceled concerts, closed sporting events and restricted air travel, vaccine passports are seen as a way to speed up the route. back to normalcy. The premise is simple: A digital or paper document will indicate whether individuals have received a COVID-19 vaccine, or in some cases have recently been tested negative for the coronavirus. This could enable them to travel more freely within their communities, enter other countries or participate in recreational activities that were largely shut down during the pandemic. Vaccination passports seem to be a desirable alternative to continued lock-ins until herd immunity – which is estimated to be around 70% -85% vaccination rate – is reached. As a global health management researcher, I can definitely see the benefits of vaccine passports. But I am also aware of the pitfalls. Although vaccine passports can open up the world to many people, it can lead to discrimination – especially against the poor. Return to the air There is undoubtedly a desire to return to normalcy as soon as possible. For the tourism industry, which estimates more than US $ 1 trillion in losses due to COVID-19, reopening the trip is a vital relief. Even for those who can travel during the pandemic, arrival in most countries required significant restrictions, which often include a hotel quarantine of up to 14 days. Vaccination passports can meet families who are separated by local locksmiths or state or national border restrictions in person. An Air New Zealand executive led the case for a digital passport, saying: ‘Ensuring our customers’ travel is actually safe is one of our priorities. By using the app, customers can have confidence that everyone on board meets the same health requirements of the government as they do. And it’s not just travel. Passports could also open the door to everyday activities that seemed normal before the pandemic. In Israel, the country with the fastest vaccination rate, citizens with a ‘green pass’ vaccination will have access to gyms, hotels, concerts and dining rooms inside restaurants. And some employers are considering providing proof of vaccination to get back to work. Getting a Green Pass In short, the concept of vaccine passports is no longer theoretical, as it was early in the pandemic when the World Health Organization recommended its use. It has even been suggested that attracting a vaccine passport could lead to more people coming forward to be vaccinated. On February 21, Israel introduced its green pass program to reopen the economy and to encourage young people to be vaccinated. Other countries are watching the success of Israel’s program. The UK has shown interest in the idea of vaccine passports, and the 27 member states of the European Union are considering some form of vaccination certification system to facilitate easier cross-border travel within the EU. In the US, President Joe Biden has instructed government agencies to ‘assess the feasibility of a form of digital vaccination certificate, analogous to the concept of a vaccine passport. Inequalities in pandemics This potential opening of the world after months of constraints is welcomed. The concern, however, is that the benefits will not be distributed fairly, and that some groups will be disadvantaged as a result. After all, it seems that a pandemic used to be considered a ‘big equalizer’, anything but. As with most health crises, racial minorities made up a larger percentage of those affected in the US – as seen in their higher number of hospitalizations and deaths. Vaccination campaigns constantly varied with income and race. In the United States, for example, black Americans received the vaccination against half of white Americans, and the difference in Hispanic Americans is even greater. Worldwide, rich countries have ordered almost all available vaccines, which means that the average citizen in a high-income country is much more likely to get a vaccine than a health worker or high-risk citizen in lower-income countries. income. It is also likely that demographic groups with higher confidence in authorities and medical institutions are most willing to be vaccinated, and this could adversely affect marginalized communities. A recent study found that black Americans, who have legitimate reasons to distrust the medical institution, are less likely to have any racial group in the U.S. say they will be vaccinated against the coronavirus. As such, vaccination passports can perpetuate existing inequalities in countries as those who are vaccinated can enjoy the freedom to move in their community while others remain in the lock. A world divided? Given the global imbalance in the availability of vaccines, it is not difficult to imagine a situation where citizens of rich countries can regain their rights to travel to environments where the local population is still in some form of lockdown. . This potential to further divide the world rich from the world poor is a major source of concern. Once economies begin to “open up” and those with vaccine passports can work as usual, the urgency to deal with COVID-19 in marginalized communities may disappear. Furthermore, vaccination passports can give populations an inaccurate level of risk perception. It is still unclear how long immunity will last. It is also unclear to what extent the transmission of viruses is restricted once one is vaccinated. Public health authorities continue to suggest that vaccinated individuals wear masks and keep their distance from the public for the time being, especially when dealing with uninitiated people. These recommendations have led to concerns that vaccinated tourists, meals and shopping may act in a way that could jeopardize the unvaccinated service and hospitality workers with whom they interact. [Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.] There are also privacy considerations with vaccine passports, which are mainly presented in a digital format. In the UK, the proposed vaccine certification will be in the form of an app that can be scanned to gain access to restaurants and venues. This has raised concerns that digital passports could infringe on the rights to privacy, freedom of movement and peaceful assembly. Countries that are low in world freedom indices, such as Bahrain, Brunei and China, also use programs, often with worrying implications. In China, the app was found to be linked to law enforcement, and while people were checking out places in the city, their locations were tracked by the software. Despite the importance of vaccine passports, these concerns remain. The World Health Organization has called on countries to make sure that, if implemented, vaccine passports are not responsible for ‘the increase in health inequalities or the increase in the digital divide.’ The danger is that the pandemic has so far exposed the inequalities of society at every stage. Vaccination passports can also perpetuate these inequalities. This article was published from The Conversation, a non-profit news site dedicated to the exchange of ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Yara M. Asi, University of Central Florida. Read more: Many black Americans do not try to get the COVID-19 vaccine – a long history of medical abuse indicates why COVID-19 immunity passports can violate US law. and a policy member of Al-Shabaka.