(AP) – Airlines and others in the travel industry are throwing their support behind so-called vaccine passports to promote travel with pandemics, and the authorities in Europe can accept the idea quickly enough for the peak summer holiday season.
Technology companies and trade-related groups develop and test different versions of the vaccine passports, also called health certificates or travel passes.
However, it is not clear whether any of the passports being developed will be widely accepted around the world, and the result could be confusion among travelers and disappointment for the travel industry.
Here are some important questions about the health evidence.
WHAT IS A VACATION PORT?
This is documentation showing that a traveler was vaccinated against COVID-19 or recently tested negative for the virus that causes it.
The information is stored on a phone or other mobile device that shows the user to airline workers and border guards. The administration of Biden and others also want a paper version available.
WHO DESIGNS THEM?
The international airline trade group, the International Air Transport Association, is testing a version he calls Travel Pass. IBM is developing another, called a Digital Health Pass. There are several other initiatives in the private sector.
Some countries get involved and use passports outside of air travel. Israel uses a new ‘green passport’ to ensure that only people who have been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 can attend public events such as concerts. Denmark expects to introduce a pass with which vaccinated people with less disabilities can travel.
WHY DO TRAVEL COMPANIES WANT THEM?
International air travel collapsed during the pandemic as countries imposed restrictions such as quarantines or banned institutions to restrict the spread of the virus. Airlines are counting on vaccine passports to persuade governments to drop some of the restrictions that discourage visitors.
“The significance of this for the start of international aviation cannot be overstated,” said Alexandre de Juniac, chief executive of the airline trade group.
Managers of hotels that depend on international visitors are also eager to see how the pass is approved.
The airline trading group tested its app on a flight from Singapore Airlines to London on Wednesday. A passenger brought a digital version of his passport, coronavirus test results and travel restrictions on a mobile device.
WHERE Would these passes be required?
Vaccination passports are the most common on international flights. Some countries already require proof of vaccination for diseases such as yellow fever, and the United States now requires a negative test for COVID-19 to enter the country, so a digital passport for health is not a leap.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
The available vaccinations are the most effective in preventing serious diseases, but this does not exclude the possibility that vaccinated travelers can still spread the virus.
“I think we currently have enough evidence to say that the vaccines reduce transmission, and that vaccinated people are much less likely to transmit the disease,” said Ashish Jha, dean of the public health school at Brown University. . “How much? We do not know.” He guesses it is about 80%.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend travel, as the agency has relaxed other guidelines for vaccinated people.
WHAT ABOUT JUSTICE?
Other critics say the certificates will primarily benefit people in rich countries and relatively affluent people in each country – those who are likely to be vaccinated quickly and are likely to have smartphones.
“It’s going to be the rich, the privileged who are going to fly, and other people are not going to have access to it,” says Lisa Eckenwiler, who teaches health ethics at George Mason University. She sees a particular potential for unfairness as health transitions to workplaces and schools.
WHAT ABOUT PRIVACY?
Consumers will be nervous about the piece of health information that could be hacked or exposed in an offense, says Stephen Beck of management consulting cg42.
“When it comes down to it, people will ask themselves, ‘Is it worth it to share sensitive information for a leisure trip?’ he says, “and for many the answer will be no.”
IATA and IBM say that their passports use blockchain technology and that the information is not stored in one central location.
WHAT ROLE WILL THE US GOVERNMENT PLAY?
Airline and business groups are pushing for the White House to take the lead in setting standards for health passes. They believe it could avoid an angling of local credentials that could cause confusion among travelers and prevent any health certificate from being widely accepted.
But the Biden government says it is up to the private sector and non-profit organizations to find out how Americans can show that they have been vaccinated or tested.
“It’s not the government’s role to preserve the data and do it,” Andy Slavitt, a White House virus response adviser, said this week. “It has to be private, the data has to be secure, access to it has to be free, it has to be available digitally and in paper and in several languages.”
Other governments, such as those in Israel and Denmark, are taking a more active role.
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David Koenig can be reached at www.twitter.com/airlinewriter
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