Axios
The rise of vaccine passports
Vaccine passports were announced at the beginning of the pandemic as an important part of the plan to get people back to normal life. Now they are becoming a reality. Giving rise to the news: CLEAR, the secure digital identity app you see at airports around the world, and CommonPass, a health app that allows users to securely access vaccination records and COVID test results, have joined forces . Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Sign up for free. The result is an app that tells airplanes that you’re allowed to fly, arenas that you’re free to watch the ball game, and Vegas casinos that you’re free to go to slot machines – all while promising to keep your private health data. “It’s about helping people get back to what they love,” CLEAR CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker told Axios. “It is not about contacting you in a year. It is about reopening tomorrow.” What’s happening: Any of the millions of Americans who have been vaccinated can download the CLEAR app to obtain the pass and show everyone that the record.CLEAR vaccination works with CommonPass and several other health data aggregators, as well as directly with laboratories and hospitals to access and check customer records. It is not that simple. Of course, there can be all kinds of problems when trying to find and verify this data, due to the large number of vaccine providers and their different ways of collecting records. For example, there is a chance that users will experience problems if they receive the vaccine in a small hospital that does not keep digital records. What to note: the promise of a return to normal with vaccine passports can also bring back dozens of jobs in cities like Las Vegas, which are full of services, hospitality and entertainment that were wiped out by the pandemic. Yes, but: With widespread vaccination on the horizon, vaccines or test result passports may arrive too late. Many Americans who have been working and having fun at home can continue to stand still until most of the country is vaccinated anyway. Still, the CLEAR and CommonPass collaboration could have applications beyond the pandemic, said Paul Meyer, CEO of the Commons Project. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telehealth, and the app offers a quick and safe way to share recent laboratory results or other health data with a doctor during a virtual consultation. Do you like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.