There’s also the question of how well various vaccine credential systems will work together and whether countries will recognize each others’ certificates. “If done correctly, this doesn’t bring an additional level of privacy risk because you’re just putting in a credential status of yes or no,” said Kevin Trilli, chief product officer at ID verification company Onfido, which is working on vaccination cards technology. Developers stress that minimal personal data is kept on phones, and the only thing that gets transmitted are encryption keys allowing information to be exchanged securely. Vaccination passports are a polarizing topic, with online discussion highlighting unfounded fears that they’ll be used to control people, restrict freedom and erode privacy. ![]() The app scans a traveler’s face using the phone camera and matches it to passport biometric details, and there are checks to prevent someone else using their identity. IATA says it doesn’t verify test results or vaccination status but acts as the conduit for registered labs to securely send those details to travelers whose identity the app can match to the person who took the test or vaccination. Phony paper COVID-19 documents sold by fraudsters have been a problem during the pandemic but developers say digital versions have safeguards that make them hard to fake. “Personally, you know, I would be happy to tell anybody, yes, I am vaccinated or no I’m not vaccinated,” he said, adding that vaccine passports would help avoid the “logistical nightmare” of multiple COVID-19 tests Europeans face when visiting other EU countries. “Those 10 days of quarantine will have negative business implications - there’s no way around it,” Fogg said, while acknowledging tradeoffs including concerns about data privacy.Įymeric Segard, CEO of Geneva-based private jet broker Lunajets, noted travelers already hand over passports with personal data on arrival. Fogg’s firm scaled back plans to attend a major telecom trade show in Barcelona next month, given quarantine rules for people returning to the U.K. “Our expectation is it will remain a requirement for international travel.” What travelers wantīusiness travelers like British public relations executive Richard Fogg welcome vaccine passports. CommonPass says users will be able to import vaccine credentials by mid-June.Īmid a pandemic-dimmed travel outlook, CommonPass CEO Paul Meyer said vaccine passports will only become more widespread. Both are also expected to work with the EU certificates. Both can also be integrated into airline travel apps so users can verify their vaccine status when they check in online. Travel Pass and CommonPass are so far only available to travelers on airlines that are using them. Travelers can already use the apps to verify that their COVID-19 test results are accepted at their destination. A rival effort, the nonprofit CommonPass, has gained traction with carriers like Cathay Pacific, JetBlue, United and Lufthansa. The International Air Transport Association, an airline industry group, has its smartphone IATA Travel Pass, which airlines including Qantas, Japan Airlines, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have signed up to. The World Health Organization doesn’t recommend vaccination proof as a requirement for international travel, citing unequal distribution of vaccines, even as it consults on interim guidance for developing a “Smart Vaccination Certificate.” The idea is that travelers will flash a QR code on their phones so it can be scanned at, say, an airport or train station, using an official verification app that checks with national databases, via an EU technical “gateway.” ![]() Officials in Brussels say that will be up to individual countries. It’s still unclear where and how exactly travelers in the EU, which doesn’t have internal border checkpoints, will have their certificates checked. ![]() Testing is under way for the EU’s digital certificate, which will also confirm COVID-19 test results or recovery from the virus and is set to go live by the end of June, allowing residents to reunite with friends and relatives living across 30 European countries. Keen to avoid losing another summer of holiday revenue to the coronavirus pandemic, some governments and the airline industry are scrambling to develop so-called COVID-19 vaccine passports. This image shows a May 21, 2021, screen grab of the NHS test and trace app, now featuring a vaccine status feature for travel.
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