Essentially, a vaccine passport is a code that you receive once you’ve been vaccinated that can be displayed on a phone app so when you travel you can easily show that you’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19.
As the world heads on its own path back to recovery and different countries around the world figure out the best possible ways to open up and see the normal day to day return, questions are certainly being asked around different measures that can be implemented to ensure this can be done safely. The biggest is certainly within the argument around Vaccine Passports, but what exactly are they, how do they work, and what are the current arguments against them? After all, there are talks of introducing these around the world, and not just within a few countries or individual states.
Essentially, a vaccine passport is a code that you receive once you’ve been vaccinated that can be displayed on a phone app so when you travel you can easily show that you’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19 – whilst there is the potential to have this implemented in one of a hundred different ways, this has been the current approach for countries such as Israel – you download the app, scan your passport or snap a picture, and upload a copy of any certification or confirmation that you’ve been vaccinated, and then this is your go to when you arrive in a new country for showing your vaccination status.
The argument against this, however, is whether or not it imposes on personal freedoms and private health choices – after all, the vaccine isn’t a mandatory requirement and having a mandatory display that you’ve received the vaccine in order to travel would change that. There have been those giving examples of other times you may need to show a vaccine, such as those wishing to live in University dorms may need to show they’ve received a meningitis vaccine for example, says A.J. Bauer from the University of Alabama.
It’s also important to consider whether or not these vaccine passports would extend just past international travel and also find use in different business too – whilst some sectors like these betting sites primarily found online away from initiatives like Gamstop have moved away from brick-and-mortar, it could become a requirement to enter other establishments such as restaurants or cinemas – if you’re going to be in a crowded place with hundreds of others, showing your vaccination status could be a big game changer when it comes to safely reopening as many places as possible.
In many cases, it seems as if the argument against the use of these vaccine passports is a little silly, particularly when the use of them could protect thousands of people daily, but with the future of travel and perhaps even entertainment and hospitality as a whole at stake, it’s something that needs to be done correctly – and the future of travel as a whole could see a very impactful change once decisions are made, even if only on a country to country basis.
