As people participate in vaccination they are enabling tracking- enabling globalization
The EU digital vaccine passport goes live today, allowing travelers from all 27 European Union countries to use their smartphone to prove that they have been vaccinated, have tested negative, or have recovered from COVID-19. It’s available for both iPhone and Android smartphones …
Officially known as the EU Digital COVID Certificate, it will allow airport scanners to read a unique QR code from your smartphone, verifying that you meet one or more of the requirements for travel.
BBC News reports that it is recognized by 31 countries in all.
It’s available in, and recognised by, all 27 EU member states – plus Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
It’s free – and all EU citizens, as well as non-EU nationals legally staying or living in the member states (with the right to travel to other member states) can download it or obtain a paper copy.
Some countries have already been using the certificate on a voluntary basis – but it’s being officially introduced from 1 July with a six-week phase-in period.
The EU says that the certificate will allow easy entry into member countries.
The EU digital COVID certificate will have a speedy verification process and will help preventing the use of fake certificates across the EU […]
Holders of a valid EU digital COVID certificate should in principle not be subject to testing or quarantine when travelling within the EU.
Privacy was a key part of the specification for the certificate. Your code contains a unique identifier, together a link to the official body able to verify your status. This might be a database held by a health authority, hospital, or test center. The scanner verifies that your code is valid and allows you to pass the check, but does not retain any of the data.
England has its own digital certificate, available in the NHS App, which should be compatible.
Will the EU recognise the NHS Covid Pass? Not yet – but some individual countries, such as Greece and Spain, are already accepting it.
The EU says it’s working to ensure its digital certificate is compatible with similar products in non-EU countries. If it’s satisfied a non-EU certificate complies with EU “standards and systems”, it can decide to accept it across all 27 nations.
Scotland and Wales don’t yet have their own digital certificates, only paper ones. The same will be true of Northern Ireland from the middle of this month. Paper certificates should, however, work in the same way.
The IATA Travel Pass also works in the same way, and should similarly be compatible with scanners designed to read the EU digital vaccine passport.
Vaccinations are key to reopening countries for travel, as they dramatically reduce the risk of infection; reduce the severity of symptoms if someone is infected; and makes you far less likely to pass the infection to anyone else.
Here’s a look at COVID vaccine passport systems in use overseas
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An increasing number of countries are using vaccine passports not only at their borders but also to restrict who can participate in social and cultural activities, and in some cases even employment.
Most of the countries that have begun implementing the passes widely have relatively high vaccination rates of at least 50 per cent.
While in most cases it’s too early to tell whether the schemes are working, they provide a useful insight for where Australia might be headed.
Israel
Israel’s is among the most successful vaccination programs in the world.
More than 60 per cent of the population is now fully vaccinated and another 5 per cent or so have had at least one shot.
Israel first introduced a temporary system called the “green pass” earlier this year, which was a QR code that people showed using an app or printed out to prove their vaccination status.
It’s become the template for most other countries’ systems as well.
The green pass allowed access to places like gyms, event venues, hotels, theatres, restaurants and bars and were available to people who had been vaccinated or who had recovered from a coronavirus infection.
People who tested negative to the virus could also get a temporary pass valid for 72 hours.
The green pass program was discontinued in June as restrictions were lifted, but a recent surge in cases driven by the Delta variant has prompted the government to bring it back from the end of July.
Europe
The European Union this month implemented a vaccine passport system that allows anyone who is fully vaccinated with any of five Western-made vaccines to travel freely within the bloc.
Individual countries are also bringing in domestic measures that give greater freedom to vaccinated people.
France this month introduced a “health pass” required for entry to cinemas, museums, sports venues and events or places catering to more than 50 people. It’s expected to be extended to restaurants, cafes and shopping centres in August.
In the week after the July 12 announcement, 3.7 million French citizens signed up for a vaccination, according to the Doctolib health website.
However, the move sparked protests around the country with tens of thousands taking to the streets.
Italy followed in France’s footsteps this week, announcing that proof of vaccination or immunity would shortly be mandatory for activities including indoor dining and entering places such as gyms, pools, museums and cinemas.
Regional governors in Italy said there was actually a marked pick-up in bookings following the announcement.
Greece made a vaccination certificate mandatory for anyone to be allowed into indoor restaurants and bars from last week.
Hungary has made vaccinations mandatory for healthcare workers and Malta this month became the first country in the European Union to ban any visitor over the age of 12 from entering unless fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, Germany has not yet implemented any measures forcing people to get vaccinated but the government has warned restrictions for unvaccinated people may be necessary if COVID-19 infection numbers reach new heights in the coming months.
United Kingdom
England this week announced that fully vaccinated travellers from the US and Europe — apart from France — would no longer need to quarantine upon arrival starting August 2.
Travellers must provide proof of vaccination, such as the European Union’s vaccine passport, the US CDC card or US state-level verification.
British citizens arriving from amber list countries were already able to get a “COVID pass” that allowed them to skip quarantine if they were fully vaccinated.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also flagged earlier this month that from the end of September English nightclubs and other venues with large crowds would require patrons to present proof of full vaccination before entry on the NHS Covid Pass app.
However, Mr Johnson said the government was not planning similar requirements for pubs.
United States
The US has yet to bring in any national form of vaccine passport, however President Joe Biden said on Thursday that federal workers will need to be vaccinated or face testing, social distancing, mask requirements and limits on travel.
The US Department of Veterans Affairs, the state of California and New York City have made vaccines mandatory for employees.
Some hospitals, nursing homes, colleges and universities among other places have also made it compulsory for its workers to get vaccinated.
Google and Facebook this week also said they would require employees to be vaccinated.
Russia
President Vladimir Putin has not implemented any national measures to mandate vaccinations in Russia, but some regions have taken steps.
For example, unvaccinated people won’t be able to stay at any resorts in Sochi, a popular summer destination, from next month.
However, Moscow this week had to drop its ban on people entering cafes, restaurants and bars without a health pass after owners complained it was killing business.
Some people had also been getting around the ban by buying counterfeit vaccine certificates or paying to have their name added to the national vaccine register.
China
Since relatively early in the pandemic, China has had a “health code” system accessible within WeChat that can store vaccine information.
It is these apps, rather than the digital passport, that have been used to restrict domestic travel if people have been in outbreak areas.
However, China also started rolling out a digital vaccine passport in March that appeared to be primarily for international travel.
What about Australia?
Vaccines have already become a must in a few areas in Australia.
By mid-September vaccination will be mandatory for residential aged care workers and a trial of home quarantine for vaccinated Australians arriving back home from overseas is being undertaken in South Australia.
The federal government’s COVID-19 digital certificate already shows the inoculations you have had to protect against the virus, as recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register.
It is available on smartphones on the Express Plus Medicare app.
Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan earlier this month said the plan was to eventually expand the home quarantine program to people who had been vaccinated overseas using a vaccine passport system.
Mr Tehan has also said he would like to see a vaccine passport system in Australia for domestic travel.