Vaccine passports during the COVID-19 pandemic

The Royal Society published a report on 19 February 2021[17] where a lead author of the report, Professor Melinda Mills, Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science at the University of Oxford said: “Understanding what a vaccine passport could be used for is a fundamental question – is it literally a passport to allow international travel or could it be used domestically to allow holders greater freedoms?

The intended use will have significant implications across a wide range of legal and ethical issues that need to be fully explored and could inadvertently discriminate or exacerbate existing inequalities.” The report lists 12 essential criteria for an international standard.

In August 2021, Ecma International announced revisions to Ecma-417 (Architectures for distributed real-time access systems) relevant to standards for vaccine passports.

In exile and under confinement in Paris, he proposed immunity passports as a way to help restart the economy in a series of articles which he began in March 2020 and published in The Geopolitics and The Brussels Times.

[24] Proponents of the idea such as Sam Rainsy, co-founder of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) have argued that immunity, whether acquired naturally or through vaccination, is a resource which needs to be used to limit the impact of the pandemic on the global economy.

"[27] In January 2021, Israel announced that Israelis who had received their second vaccination and those who had proof of recovery from infection would be eligible for a Green Pass, exempting them from isolation requirements[28] and mandatory COVID-19 tests, including those on arrival from overseas.

[30][31][32] In October 2021, Israel announced an update to its guidelines, requiring that the most recent vaccine dose (or proof of recovery) to have been during the past six months.

[36] In February 2020, China started to use digital "health codes", available on a variety of platforms including WeChat and Alipay with scannable QR barcodes displaying a "traffic light" system of colours to enter public transport, shops, restaurants and malls.

When issued, the passports will be in paper form in both Japanese and English, showing the holder's date(s) of inoculation and the vaccine type, and are available free of charge.

The country uses the Tawakkalna app which includes information for health appointments, vaccination status and alerts users to COVID-19 exposure for contact tracing purposes.

[citation needed] On 19 October 2021, the caretaker Minister of Health of Bulgaria, Stoycho Katsarov, introduced the Green Certificate (Bulgarian: Зелен Сертификат).

[62][63] To obtain the pass people must be fully vaccinated or undertake a test within 72 hours of attending a non-essential space or have recovered recently from an infection of the virus.

[65] Starting 1 October 2021, those age 12 and older will require a Pass Sanitaire to enter public sites like restaurants, cinemas, and sporting events.

[72] In August 2021 the Italian government extended the requirement of the EU Digital COVID Certificate, also known as a Green Pass, to the participation in sports events and music festivals, but also to access to indoor places like bars, restaurants and gyms, as well as to long-distance public transportation.

[76][77] In Ukraine, citizens with at least one dose of a vaccine are allowed to attend certain high-risk indoor settings which would normally be closed or heavily restricted in hot spots.

[82] In September 2021, Secretary of Health Sajid Javid stated that England would not implement a mandate for proof of vaccination, following pushback from Conservative members of parliament and business leaders over potential discrimination and economic harm.

[83][84][85][86] Prime Minister Boris Johnson subsequently stated that England would focus on a strategy of contact tracing, rapid testing, and the rollout of vaccine boosters, and only included mandatory proof of vaccination in a package of "plan B" measures (including a reintroduction of mask mandates) in the event of another surge of COVID-19 cases.

[87][88][89] The spread of Omicron variant in England would lead to the implementation of "plan B", resulting in proof of vaccination for nightclubs and large events becoming mandatory beginning 15 December.

[92] The implementation of digital proof of vaccination in Canada has largely been conducted at the provincial and territorial level, with the federal government specifying the SMART Health Card document and QR code standard designed to be suitable for international travel.

[93] Beginning 30 October 2021 proof of vaccination became mandatory for all passengers aged 12 and older boarding domestic and/or international commercial airplanes departing from most Canada-based airports, and those riding on the cross-country Via Rail services.

[8] Prior to the issue becoming politicised, public views on vaccine passports were evenly split and the divide crossed, rather than followed, political and ideological lines.

[1][144][145][146] Los Angeles County began a proof of vaccination system for indoor bars, restaurants, venues and nightclubs on 7 October 2021.

[147] New York City began its Excelsior Pass or Key to NYC vaccine passport system for dining, fitness, events and indoor entertainment on 13 September 2021.

[152] In May 2021, then Health Ministry Subsecretary, Paula Daza, mandated the "mobility pass" (pase de movilidad) in gyms, restaurants and swimming pools.

The vaccine pass is required to enter hospitality venues, community, sport and faith-based gatherings as defined by the COVID-19 Protection Framework.

"Some sort of vaccine certificate will be important" to reboot travel and tourism, according to Dr. David Nabarro, special envoy on COVID-19 for the WHO, in February 2021.

[166] In March 2021, Bernardo Mariano, the WHO's Director of Digital Health and Innovation, said that "We don't approve the fact that a vaccination passport should be a condition for travel.

[169] According to HRW, requiring vaccine passports for work or travel could force people into taking tests or risk losing their jobs,[169] create a perverse incentive for people to intentionally infect themselves to acquire immunity certificates,[169] and risk creating a black market of forged or otherwise falsified vaccine cards.

[169] By restricting social, civic, and economic activities, vaccine passports may "compound existing gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality inequities.

[171] A security vulnerability in the app used by New Jersey and Utah briefly made it possible to request the QR codes of other users, containing encoded name, date of birth, and vaccination history information.