Initiatives for international travel certification move forward
Numerous countries are considering the introduction of health passports. In the United Kingdom, a certification system is being developed for concerts and sports matches, while the European Union is working hard on a digital system, and a "Green Pass" is already available in Israel. Doubts remain as to whether it is mandatory for travel.
Doubts remain as to whether it is mandatory for travel.
As explained by Alberto Peris, executive director and founding partner of CESAE Business & Tourism School, “although proving that you are vaccinated to travel abroad is not a new concept, given that some countries have required yellow fever vaccinations for years; vaccinated to travel abroad is not a new concept, given that some countries have required yellow fever vaccinations for years, doing so for covid-19 will be on a much larger scale than ever before. On the other hand, a certificate for domestic use, such as going to a concert or a soccer game, is new territory to explore.
However, institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) have taken issue with this formula and do not support requiring vaccination passports for travel, due to uncertainty about whether inoculation prevents transmission and doubts associated with possible discriminatory consequences.
“There is still no agreed definition for a covid-19 vaccine passport, but roughly speaking it could be a document, probably digital, that would allowá to prove to any authority that the person has been vaccinated”, añade Peris.
The health passport is not likely to be like the small, traditional document we are used to. The most likely concept will be that of a digital passport in a mobile app.
This app could also allow you to verify entry requirements for a country after uploading your travel itinerary and maintain the status of your last test, as well as other required information. For people without a smartphone, some proponents of this passport advocate an alternative paper version.
Still an open question is the protocol for verifying the authenticity of the vaccination. Perhaps you could take a photo of a paper vaccination certificate, but that more than opens the door to possible forgery. A better option would be for vaccinated individuals to receive a digital record, but that would require vaccination sites to keep standardized records and make the data available to passport developers," believes Alberto Peris.
One of the big drawbacks is the lack of standardization. Some applications, for example, might request more information than others or might work in different ways. Another potential problem could be that countries and airlines may only accept some applications, forcing travelers to upload their vaccination records multiple times.
Island has been one of the first countries to allow vaccinated visitors to skip testing and quarantine requirements, followed by other countries including Belize, Croatia, Ecuador, Estonia, Guatemala, Montenegro and Seychelles.
The airline, led by IATA, cruise lines and other companies in the travel and hospitality industry are strong supporters of this health passport. There is a strong incentive for airlines to support this initiative. They are responsible for ensuring that passengers have the correct documentation to fly to any country before boarding a flight. In a sense, that makes an airline check-in counter the equivalent of a border crossing," says Alberto Peris.