Brendan McDermid | Reuters
LONDON: A digital vaccination passport against Covid is being jointly developed by a group of health and technology companies who anticipate that governments, airlines and other companies will soon start asking people for evidence that they have been inoculated.
A coalition known as the Vaccination Credentials Initiative (which includes Microsoft, Salesforce, and Oracle, as well as the nonprofit Mayo Clinic for U.S. Health) was announced on Thursday.
The VCI said it wants to develop technology that allows individuals to obtain an encrypted digital copy of their vaccination credentials that can be stored in a digital wallet of their choice, such as Apple Wallet or Google Pay. It was suggested that anyone without a smartphone could receive paper printed with QR codes containing verifiable credentials.
The coalition said it will also try to develop new standards to confirm whether or not a person has been inoculated against the virus. Citizens had previously used vaccination leaflets to track travel vaccines, but authorities rarely ask to see them.
“The goal of the Vaccination Credential Initiative is to empower people with digital access to their vaccination records,” said Paul Meyer, CEO of The Commons Project, which is a member of the nonprofit coalition. in a statement.
He added that the technology should allow people to “safely return to travel, work, school and life, while protecting the privacy of their data.”
Bill Patterson, executive vice president and CEO of business software firm Salesforce, said his company wants to help organizations “customize every aspect of the vaccination management lifecycle and integrate closely with offerings. other members of the coalition, which will help us all get back to public life. “
“With a unique platform to help deliver safe and ongoing operations and deepen trust with customers and employees, this coalition will be crucial in supporting public health and well-being,” Patterson added.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The vaccine divides opinion
While many people can’t wait to protect themselves from the virus, there are those who realize they won’t get the sting, leaving divided populations in those who have been vaccinated and those who haven’t. In the UK, one in five say they are unlikely to get the vaccine, according to research published in November by YouGov, which cites several reasons.
According to opinion polls, millions of people around the world still do not want to be vaccinated. Some fear the needles, some believe in unfounded conspiracy theories, and some are worried about possible side effects. Others do not believe it is necessary to get vaccinated and prefer to risk taking Covid.
As a result of differing opinions, the debate could begin to emerge in 2021. Should restrictions be imposed on people who choose not to get vaccinated, as they can catch and spread the virus?
It is a complicated issue, but governments are already looking to introduce systems that allow authorities and possibly companies to know whether or not a person has had a vaccine against Covid.
In December, it became known that Los Angeles County plans to allow Covid vaccine recipients to store immunization tests on Apple Wallet on their iPhone, which can also store tickets and boarding passes in digital format. Officials say it will first be used to remind people to get their second shot of the vaccine, but could eventually be used to access concert halls or air flights.
China has launched a health code app that shows if a person is free of symptoms to check into a hotel or use the subway. In Chile, citizens who have recovered from the coronavirus have received “virus-free” certificates.
On December 28, Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa said the country would create a register to show who has refused to be vaccinated and that the database could be shared across Europe.
Elsewhere, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said in April that immunity passports could be used to help travelers feel more secure about their personal safety while traveling.
A Ryanair spokesman said “vaccination will not be a requirement when Ryanair is flown” when CNBC asked if it would ever prevent people who were not vaccinated from flying on their plane. British Airways, Qantas and easyJet did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Isra Black, a law professor at York University, and Lisa Forsberg, a postdoctoral fellow at Oxford University who researches medical ethics, told CNBC that “it’s not easy to say whether it would be ethically permissible for an imposing state restrictions “on people who reject once.
Scholars said in a joint email statement that the response will depend on factors such as the supply of vaccines, the level of vaccination of the population, the nature of restrictions on vaccine denials and how those restrictions are operationalized.
“We might think that there are strong, though not necessarily decisive, reasons in favor of some limitation in the recovery of pre-pandemic liberties for people who refuse vaccination for Covid-19, for example, on their freedom. to meet, ”Black and Forsberg said. “There is a possibility that unvaccinated people could get a serious case of coronavirus, which we believe would be detrimental to them, but could also adversely affect other people, for example, if health resources are to be diverted from attention not covida “.