A coalition of technology and health organizations is working to develop a digital COVID-19 vaccination passport that will allow companies, airlines and countries to check if people have received the vaccine.
The Vaccination Credentials Initiative, announced Thursday, is formulating technology to confirm vaccinations with the likelihood that some governments will order people to provide evidence of their traits to enter the country.
The organization hopes the technology will allow people to “demonstrate their health status to safely return to travel, work, school and life while protecting the privacy of their data.”
The initiative, which includes members such as Microsoft, Oracle and the Mayan Nonprofit Clinic of the United States, uses the work of the international digital document member of the Commons Project that verifies that a person has tested negative for COVID-19, the Financial Times reported .
The technology of the Commons Project, created in collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation, is being used by three major airline alliances.
The coalition is reportedly in talks with several governments to create a program that requires negative testing or vaccination testing, Paul Meyer, chief executive of The Commons Project, told the Times.
“The goal of the vaccination credentials initiative is to empower people with digital access to their immunization records so they can use tools like CommonPass to safely return to travel, work, school and life, while protecting the privacy of your data, ”Meyer said in a release.
People who have been vaccinated are currently receiving a piece of paper confirming their vaccination, he said, but the coalition could develop a digital certificate using electronic medical documentation.
Technology will need to allow patients to keep their data secure while it is available in a digital wallet or physical QR code to regulate who sees the information.
The Vaccination Credential Initiative expects certain companies, such as event planners and universities, to require their consumers, students and workers to provide vaccination evidence, according to the Times.
Mike Sicilia, executive vice president of Oracle’s Global Business Units, said in a statement that the passport “should be as easy as online banking.”
“We are committed to working collectively with technologies and medical communities, as well as global governments, to ensure that people have secure access to this information where and when they need it,” he added.
The project is also developing as new strains of COVID-19 appear around the world, including the spread of the variant that is believed to be most contagious that was discovered in the UK.