Will I need proof of vaccination to travel abroad?

As vaccine distribution picks up around the world, attention is now turning to vaccines of another type: 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 without quarantine.

The application, which is being tested by 30 operators, will allow governments and airlines to collect, access and share encrypted information related to the passengers’ Covid-19 test and vaccination status before the trip.

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

What are digital health passports? Will they facilitate a return to heaven this year?

Also known as a digital health pass, a vaccine passport is digital documentation that an individual has been vaccinated against a virus, in this case Covid.

Stored in a phone or digital wallet, the data is usually presented as a QR code and can also show whether a person has tested negative for viruses.

This documentation is not without precedent. For decades, people had to show physical “yellow cards” as proof of vaccination against diseases like cholera, yellow fever and rubella when traveling to certain countries.

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

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

Tansey, who heads Accenture’s APAC travel and hospitality division, has worked with some of the top airlines on their digital health pass strategies, including three in the United States and several in Asia Pacific.

He told CNBC’s Global Traveler that these plans have been “accelerated” since the vaccine was launched and, for him, the need for such passes is clear.

“The obvious answer is yes, we do,” said Tansey, when asked if we would need digital health passes to resume travel.

He called the debates a “false trail”.

“Governments may not say you have to have one, but the implications of not having it will be so ridiculous that the trip will not be worth it,” he said, referring to extensive “draconian” tests and quarantines.

Tansey is not alone. Other experts agree that digital health passports can be the fastest and most effective way to resume an international trip.

Jase Ramsey, professor of administration at the Lutgert College of Business at Florida Gulf Coast University, 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 passes than their physical alternatives.

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

Accredify is a Singapore-based document accreditation company whose technology is being used in accordance with the mandatory Covid-19 pre-travel health exams of the Singapore government. It claims that the appeal of digital accreditation systems – like your own, which is based on the blockchain – is that they are tamper-proof and therefore cannot be falsified.

“Medical documents stored privately and securely in the app are accessible only to users, giving them the decision as to who to share their medical records with and when,” said a spokesman by email.

The resistance of travelers can be exaggerated. A recent study by the travel news website The Vacationer found that 73.6% of Americans surveyed said they would use a Covid passport or health app so that airlines and border authorities can check vaccination status and results of the tests.

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

The World Health Organization recommended caution regarding health passes, telling authorities and travel operators not to present proof of vaccination as a condition for international travel.

“This is because the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing transmission is still unclear and the global supply of vaccines is limited,” said a WHO spokesman.

The coordination of the various existing and pending vaccine passports on the market and ensuring that users’ certifications are linked to verified and approved medical facilities will be a major challenge.

“For vaccine passports to be a practical tool internationally, you will need a standardized platform that crosses all boundaries – like the current passport system,” said Dr. Harry Severance, an assistant professor at Duke University School of Medicine.

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

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

Approximately 3.6 billion people worldwide cannot access the internet, according to the WHO, and more than 1.1 billion cannot officially prove their identity. For many, paper passes will remain essential.

“People from different countries, regions or communities may not have access to vaccines or Covid-19 tests,” said Dr. Sharona Hoffman, professor of bioethics at the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, noting that low-income countries may not receive vaccines by 2023 or beyond. “A policy that prevents them from traveling or obtaining other services because of this can be discriminatory and exacerbate socioeconomic disparities.”

These systems can also set a precedent among other groups equally eager to reopen, such as restaurants and venues. In fact, Israel has already created a “green passport” to give vaccinated citizens access to public places.

This week, some US states have moved to withdraw the masks’ mandates, which could exacerbate the problem.

“As a community moves in this direction, many, many others will follow. As these decisions roll out across the country, you may find that the ‘carding’ of the vaccine is becoming a standard, ”said Severance.

Ultimately, the resumption of international travel will depend both on the countries’ willingness to reopen and on the current travel verification technology.

In Asia-Pacific, where borders remain largely closed to tourists, governments may tend to bilateral agreements, or “travel bubbles”, with selected neighbors before opening more widely, said Tansey of Accenture.

“THE The reality … is that we are still six months away from any significant air travel, “he said.” There will only be agreements with one or two seats at a time. “

Still, with much of the technology in place and with society moving towards an increasingly digitalized future, developments made today in digital health passports can leave the travel industry – and society – better prepared for any turmoil. potential.

“If we evolve into an internationally recognized system of health (or) monitoring passports etc., that will be a facet of a downstream preparedness system that will possibly allow us to survive an upcoming pandemic, which may have a worse dynamic than Covid- 19, “said Severance.