Vaccine Passports Are Here: 
What you Need To Know

     After performing successful trials on international flights between Singapore and London in March, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is ready to release their Travel Pass App this month.  Variations of “vaccination passports” are beginning to show up more from different countries and travel companies, but what exactly is a vaccination passport?
 

What Is a Vaccination Passport and how does it work?

     Vaccination Passports are being developed to move forward in reopening travel.  A Vaccination Passport will allow for border officials, airline staff, and others to verify a traveler’s vaccination status or COVID-19 test results in order to travel or enter a public venue.

     IATA’s app, which will first be released to iPhone iOS users on April 15th, will store verified COVID-19 test results and vaccination certificates, as well as a digital version of a travelers passport.  Travelers will also be able to check entry requirements for their destination and the app may eventually incorporate bio-metric information, such as a digital thumbprint or facial recognition software, to better protect the traveler’s data.  Currently 23 airlines are testing Travel Pass and airlines will also have the option to integrate the data into their own apps.

     Clear, the traveler registration company also has a Health Pass feature in their own app that collects and manages vaccination records in partnership with The Commons Project Foundation.  The Commons Project, in partnership with the World Economic Forum, has their own app as well, Common Pass.  Common Pass will store vaccination and test data as well as have the ability to link with iOS and Android Health Apps.  United Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways and JetBlue Airways have signed on as initial partners with the app, which is currently only available to a limited number of travelers via invitation code.
 

Who did it first?

     The travel industry was not the first to introduce the idea, in fact, New York State recently debuted the nation’s first health passport, Excelsior.  Excelsior is an optional program New-Yorkers can use either via the web or a smartphone app to upload vaccination data or test results from vaccination sites and labs.  Ticket takers, bouncers and others can easily verify entry to shows, sports venues, and more by using the person’s photo ID and code created through the app to generate a green check.  A beta test of the app at a Buffalo Bills game discovered “almost negligible” rates of transmission.

What has been the response?

     A study performed in February by the travel technology company, Amadeus, found that 9 out of 10 travelers are comfortable with using vaccination passports to help restart travel.  The study conducted with travelers in France, Spain, Germany, India, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Singapore, the UK and the US, also found that about 93% of those surveyed also said they had concerns about how health data would be stored for the passport.  

     Other privacy advocates have also echoed this concern and are worried about sensitive health information being vulnerable to hacking or misuse.  App developers counter this argument by using secure and encrypted channels for labs to send test results and vaccination confirmations.  Developers also argue that using blockchain technology, which makes it difficult or even impossible to hack data, will build consumer confidence.  

     Supporters hope that vaccination passports will help life return to “normal”, help countries reopen their economies, encourage more people to get vaccinated, and help protect front-line workers in the travel and hospitality industry.