‘The most important questions are: Will [the vaccine] be available, and will it be accepted as part of the new normal global journey? Says Mark Cameron, an immunologist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. “I do not think it is difficult to imagine. If France had hypothetically become a country that requires you to have proof of vaccination to get on a plane, I think that is a step people would be willing to take. ‘
Last fall, not long after the news that trials for Pfizer and Modern vaccines were successful, Qantas announced that vaccination would eventually be necessary to travel. Alan Joyce, chief executive of the Australian airline, said the move would be a necessity if vaccines were widely available.
“I think it’s going to be a common thing to talk to my colleagues in other airlines around the world,” he told Australia’s Nine Network last November. The interview immediately made international headlines. ‘We will ask people to get vaccinated before they can get on the plane. . . for international visitors coming out and people leaving the country, we think it’s a necessity. ”
South Korea’s largest airline takes a similar, albeit slightly more conservative, stance on vaccines. Jill Chung, a spokeswoman for Korean Air, said there was a real possibility that airlines would require passengers to be vaccinated. But she said this is because governments are likely to need vaccinations as a condition for lifting quarantine requirements for new arrivals.
Manufacturers in the U.S. have not been so reliant on their policies, and many experts believe it is unlikely that evidence of vaccination is needed for residents within the United States. Earlier this month, executives from several U.S. airlines spoke out strongly against the CDC to test coronavirus for domestic flights. The CDC has since abandoned the idea.
Even the idea that airline employees should be vaccinated has mixed reactions. Scott Kirby, chief executive of United Airlines, has asked other airlines to join him in requiring airline workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but both Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines said that although they would encourage employees to be vaccinated be, they will not instruct it. However, the employees do not have a choice if they are working on international flights to countries that need a vaccine.
Dr. Anthony Fauci weighed in on the idea of vaccine passports and told Newsweek he thought it was “quite possible.”
“Everything will be on the table for discussion,” Fauci said.
The concept of requiring vaccinations to visit specific countries is not new. Several African countries require that visitors be vaccinated against yellow fever. After being vaccinated, they receive a yellow card, which allows access.
Unfortunately, proving COVID-19 vaccination is not as simple as a card. Currently, four major players claim to have the answer to the problem and hope their digital passports for health will become the international standard. IBM, Clear, the International Air Transport Association and the Commons Project Foundation are all testing or exporting their digital passports. Although all programs will have multiple features, the common denominator allows authorized laboratories and testing centers to securely share test and vaccination information, enabling travelers to show evidence of vaccination.
“This is something we were actually working on before COVID had an attack,” said Perry Flint, an IATA spokesman. The organization’s Travel Pass app was launched this week. ‘The origins go back to trying to modernize processes. You go to an airport when you travel internationally and take out your passport three, four, five times. Imagine being able to take the paper passport and get it on your mobile device, your iPhone or your Android, whatever. And you will only show it once and it will be linked to you biometrically, and basically the systems will recognize you all. ‘
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the health of the IATA app has been at the forefront, with the focus on having it linked to an authorized laboratory to share a passenger’s negative COVID-19 test or a record of vaccination. Emirates has announced that it will use IATA’s Travel Pass app.
The global airline industry, which faces $ 157 billion in losses due to the historic collapse of $ 157 billion next year, sees a digital health pass to confirm COVID-free passengers as the key to resuming international travel.
So far, CommonPass is the most popular choice among airlines, is currently offered on select flights by United Airlines, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, Swiss International Air Lines and JetBlue. It uses a digital certificate downloaded to a cell phone to indicate that a passenger has tested negative for COVID-19. Users can then present the certificate as proof of a negative test if the country requires it.
But not everyone is convinced that a standardized electronic vaccine passport will be so easy to pull off in such a short time.
“In some countries where you have nationalized medicine, you can easily detect tests and vaccinations,” said Ida Bergstrom, a doctor in Washington DC who specializes in vaccination, vaccination and travel medicine. “But for the United States, that is not the case. What will sync with the airlines or what will sync with these governments, and how will it play out? I can kind of see a disaster in the making. They’ve been talking about COVID passports since day one and I’m not sure if that’s practical. ”
There are other problems as well. A vaccination passport will restrict people from economically disadvantaged countries who do not have access to a vaccine. Making the process completely digital can also be difficult for travelers who do not use mobile devices.
“It will take a lot of time to vaccinate the world population, especially those in less advanced countries, or in different age groups. Therefore, we should not discriminate against those who want to travel but who have not yet been vaccinated,” said Gloria Guevara. President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Health officials also continue to stress that even though an individual has been vaccinated, it does not mean that they are safe from spreading the virus.
“We do not know what immunity the vaccine actually offers,” Bergstrom said. ‘Since I have been vaccinated, it is very unlikely that I will have a serious illness, but my lifestyle has not changed much yet, because my husband and children have not been vaccinated yet. So if I were to run away to Cancun, I could come back with COVID. Although I would not necessarily run a big risk, I would be able to give it to my family, and then something would happen to them. ‘
Whether airlines and cruise ships need a COVID passport does not matter if countries need it. Both Australia and New Zealand were rapidly closing and stopping international arrivals when cases of coronavirus surfaced. It is not difficult to imagine the countries that require a COVID passport. Israel issues ‘green passports’ to the vaccinated residents, enabling them to enchant gyms, hotels and sporting events. It will also enable them to travel internationally when the country flees again. It seems a given that incoming travelers will experience the same rules.
Despite all the uncertainty surrounding health gateways, a beleagured travel industry is pinning its hopes on the vaccine and hoping that, coupled with a continued multiple approach of mask wear and social distance, can help it get back on its feet. Expect more cruise companies, an industry flattened by the pandemic, to see passengers vaccinated to sail.
After a year of very limited travel, John Lovell, president of Travel Leaders Group, says the words few of us with dreams of exploring the world again want to hear.
‘I do see that in the late fourth quarter of this year many airlines, crossovers and even hotels are being vaccinated. . . and beyond. “
Christopher Muther can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Chris_Muther.