With the distribution and administration of vaccines in the United States and around the world to combat the coronavirus pandemic, it is reported that plans are being made to produce technologies capable of assessing who has and who has not been inoculated.
According to a new CNN report, several international organizations and large companies, including the World Economic Forum and IBM, have begun “developing applications or systems for smartphones so that individuals can post details of their COVID tests and vaccines.” -19, creating digital credentials that could be displayed to access concert halls, stadiums, movie theaters, offices or even countries. “
One of the emerging technologies, known as the CommonPass app, developed by the World Economic Forum and The Commons Project, a non-profit organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, allows users to upload medical data such as a COVID-19 test or , finally, a vaccination test. The app then generates a certificate in the form of a QR code, which users can show to officials without revealing confidential information.
Well-known technology company IBM also created its own app, called Digital Health Pass, which works the same way but would store credentials in a mobile wallet.
Upcoming credential systems could function as “vaccine passports,” the CNN report noted, which allowed vaccinated people to file a record showing they had been shot to enter places or travel abroad. .
But new technologies also raise a number of issues, such as whether those who choose not to get vaccinated or perhaps simply decide not to allow their medical information to be shared will be barred from participating sites or countries. Not even to mention the fact that much of the world’s population still doesn’t have access to smartphones or the Internet.
The news will almost certainly trigger a new round of debate about the extent to which individual freedom and privacy can be invaded in the name of public health, especially since many may still be wary of the vaccine.
However, the development of these technologies continues to put pressure. Even two large groups are working to set universal standards for credential systems.
According to CNN, “the Linux Foundation has partnered with the Covid-19 Credentials Initiative, a collective of more than 300 people representing dozens of organizations on five continents,” to make standardized vaccine passports a reality.