Will I need proof of vaccine to travel abroad?

As vaccination rates around the world accelerate, attention is now focused on other vaccines: vaccine passports.

Last week, the International Air Transport Association announced the launch of its new digital travel pass as ‘the way forward’ to resume international travel in quarantine freedom.

The app, which is being tested by 30 carriers, will enable governments and airlines to collect, access and share encrypted information related to the Covid-19 test of passengers. and vaccination status before travel.

The International Chamber of Commerce and the World Economic Forum have created similar applications – ICC AOKpass and CommonPass – to enable travelers to electronically document their medical status. Countries like Denmark and Sweden are launching their own health passports, and even technology giants want to act.

What are digital health gateways and will it make the return to the air possible this year?

A vaccination passport, also known as a digital health passport, is digital documentation that an individual has been vaccinated against a virus, in this case Covid.

The data is stored on a phone or digital wallet and is usually presented as a QR code and can also show if someone has tested negative for a virus.

Such documentation is not unprecedented. People have had to show physical ‘yellow cards’ for decades as proof of vaccination against diseases such as cholera, yellow fever and rubella when traveling to certain countries.

However, this is the first time the industry has come up with an electronic alternative designed to improve verifiability and circumvent some of the delays caused by paper peers.

“Imagine the scene when 180,000 people present a piece of paper that needs to be checked and validated,” said Mike Tansey, a managing director. at Accenture, citing the pre-Covid number of daily passengers at Singapore Changi Airport.

Tansey, who heads Accenture’s APAC Travel and Hospitality Division, is working with several major airlines on their digital health pass strategies, including three in the US and several in the Asia-Pacific.

He told CNBC’s Global Traveler that plans had “accelerated” since the vaccine’s inception, and for him the need for such passes was clear.

“The obvious answer is yes, we do,” Tansey said when asked if we needed digital health proof to resume the journey.

He calls debates a ‘red herring’.

“Governments may not say you have to have one, but the implications of not going to be so ridiculous that travel will not be worth it,” he said, referring to extensive testing and ‘draconian’ quarantines.

Tansey is not alone. Other experts agree that digital health gateways are the fastest and most efficient way to resume international travel.

Jase Ramsey, professor of management at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Lutgert College of Business, agrees that the likelihood of adoption is ‘very high’. But he noted that concerns about security and personal data may make consumers less willing to adopt digital health cards than their physical alternatives.

“As with any app that stores health records, there will be privacy and fraud,” Ramsey said.

Accredify is a document accreditation company in Singapore whose technology is used during the Covid-19 health surveys of the Singapore government before the trip. It claims that the appeal of digital accreditation systems – such as its own, which is based on the blockchain – is that it is tamper-proof and therefore cannot be counterfeited.

“Medical documents stored privately and securely in the app are only accessible to users, giving them the decision with whom they want to share medical records and when,” a spokesman said in an email.

Resistance of travelers can be overemphasized. A recent study by travel news website The Vacationer found that 73.6% of Americans surveyed said they would use a Covid passport or app so airline and border authorities could check their vaccination status and test results.

The success of digital passports will depend on the effectiveness of vaccines. Little is known about whether vaccines prevent the spread of Covid, although research is underway.

The World Health Organization called for caution against health passes, and asked the authorities and travel operators not to introduce proof of vaccination as a condition for international travel.

“This is because the efficacy of vaccines to prevent transmission is not yet clear, and the global vaccine supply is limited,” a WTO spokesman said.

Coordinating the various existing and pending vaccine passports on the market, and ensuring users’ certification linked to verified and approved medical facilities, will be a major challenge.

“For vaccination passports to be an international practical tool, there must be a standardized platform that transcends all boundaries – such as the current passport system,” said Dr. Harry Severance, assistant professor at Duke University School of Medicine, said.

The WHO works with agencies, including the International Air Transport Association and the International Civil Aviation Organization, to develop digital vaccination card standards. It added that its position on health passes “will evolve as evidence on existing and new Covid-19 vaccines is updated.”

Then, of course, there are the social, legal, and political consequences of a system based on unfair global access to vaccines and technology.

According to the WHO, approximately 3.6 billion people worldwide do not have access to the internet, and more than 1.1 billion cannot officially prove their identity. For many, paper evidence will remain essential.

“People from different countries, regions or communities may not have access to vaccines or Covid-19 testing,” said Dr. Sharona Hoffman, a professor of bioethics at the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, said that low-income countries may not receive vaccinations until 2023 or later. “A policy that prevents them from traveling or accessing other services can be discriminatory and exacerbate socio-economic inequalities.”

Such systems can also set a precedent among other groups eager to reopen, such as restaurants and events. Indeed, Israel has already created a “green passport” to give vaccinated citizens access to public premises.

This week, some U.S. states moved to lift mask mandates, which could exacerbate the issue.

“As one community moves in this direction, many, many more will follow. As such decisions roll across the country, you may find that ‘vaccination of’ vaccine becomes a standard,” Severance said.

Ultimately, the resumption of international travel will depend just as much on the willingness of countries to reopen as on travel verification technology.

In Asia-Pacific, where borders remain largely closed to tourists, governments may tend to bilateral agreements or ‘travel bubbles’ with select neighbors before being opened wider, Accenture’s Tansey said.

“The reality … we’re still six months away from any meaningful air travel, “he said. It’s only going to be similarities with one or two places at a time. “

While much of the technology is in place and society is moving towards an increasingly digitalized future, the developments made today in digital health gateways can better prepare the travel industry – and society – for all the possible turmoil that lies ahead.

“If we develop into an internationally recognized system of health gateways (or) monitoring, etc., it will be one facet of a downstream preparedness system that will enable us to survive an upcoming pandemic, which could have worse dynamics than Covid-19, Severance said.