(AP) – Airlines and others in the travel industry are supporting so-called vaccine passports to boost travel with pandemic depression, and authorities in Europe could embrace the idea quickly enough for the high summer vacation season. .
Technology companies and travel-related business groups are developing and testing various versions of vaccine passports, also called health certificates or travel passes.
It is not clear, however, whether any of the passports in development will be accepted widely around the world, and the result could be confusion among travelers and disappointment for the travel industry.
Here are some important questions about health credentials.
WHAT IS A VACCINE PASSPORT?
It is the documentation that shows that a traveler has been vaccinated against COVID-19 or has recently been negative for the virus that causes it.
The information is stored on a phone or other mobile device that the user shows to airline employees and border officials. The Biden administration and others want a paper version available as well.
WHO IS DRAWING THEM?
The global airline commercial group, the International Air Transport Association, is testing a version it calls the Travel Pass. IBM is developing another, called Digital Health Pass. There are several other private sector initiatives.
Some countries are getting involved and using passports in addition to air travel. Israel is using 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 hopes to launch a pass that will allow vaccinated people to travel with less restrictions.
WHY DO TRAVEL COMPANIES WANT YOU?
International air travel collapsed during the pandemic, as countries impose restrictions such as quarantines or direct bans to curb the spread of the virus. Airlines rely on vaccine passports to convince governments to abandon some of these restrictions that discourage visitors.
“The importance of this for restarting international aviation cannot be overstated,” said Alexandre de Juniac, CEO of the airline trade group.
Hotel operators that depend on international visitors are also eager to see the passes adopted.
The airline commercial group tested its app on Wednesday on a Singapore Airlines flight to London. A passenger placed a digital version of his passport, coronavirus test results and travel restrictions at his destination on a mobile device.
WHERE WILL THESE PASSES BE NECESSARY?
Vaccine passports will be more common on international flights. Some countries already require proof of vaccination for diseases like yellow fever, and the United States now requires a negative test for COVID-19 to enter the country, so a digital health passport is not much of a leap.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
The vaccines available are more effective in preventing serious diseases, but that does not exclude the possibility that vaccinated travelers can still spread the virus.
“I think we have enough evidence now to say that these vaccines reduce transmission, that vaccinated people are much less likely to transmit the disease,” said Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s school of public health. “How many? We don’t know.” He thinks it’s about 80%.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not yet recommend travel, although the agency has relaxed other guidelines for people who have been vaccinated.
WHAT HAPPENS TO JUSTICE?
Other critics say the certificates will mainly benefit people in wealthier countries and relatively wealthy people within each country – those who are more likely to get vaccinated quickly and are more likely to have smartphones.
“It will be the rich, the privileged, who will fly around, and other people will not have access to it,” says Lisa Eckenwiler, who teaches health ethics at George Mason University. She sees a particular potential for injustice if health approval expands to workplaces and schools.
WHAT HAPPENS TO PRIVACY?
Consumers will be nervous about sharing health information that could be hacked or exposed in a breach, says Stephen Beck of management consultancy cg42.
“At the end of the day, people will ask themselves: is it worth sharing confidential information on a leisure trip?” he says, “and for many, the answer will be no.”
IATA and IBM say their passes use blockchain technology and the information will not be stored in a central location.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT?
Airlines and business groups are pushing the White House to take the lead in setting standards for health passes. They believe that this would avoid a confusion of regional credentials that could cause confusion among travelers and prevent any single health certificate from being widely accepted.
But the Biden government says it is up to the private sector and nonprofit organizations to find out how Americans can demonstrate that they have been vaccinated or tested.
“It is not the government’s role to keep this data and do that,” said Andy Slavitt, a virus response consultant at the White House, this week. “It must be private, the data must be secure, access to it must be free, it must be available both digitally and on paper and in several languages.”
Other governments, such as Israel and Denmark, are taking a more active role.
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David Koenig can be contacted at www.twitter.com/airlinewriter
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