Grace Worwa  – Opinion Columnist

We are now over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and according to the World Health Organization, more than 335 million doses of vaccine have been administered worldwide. With that in mind, governments and companies alike are racing to develop what news outlets are calling the pandemic’s next big thing: vaccine passports.
So, what are vaccine passports? And how do they affect Gusties?
Vaccine passports are either card or digital documentation that proves you have been vaccinated. These documents would be more immune to fraud than the vaccination cards currently issued by the CDC. Not only will many countries likely require vaccine passports for future entry, but airlines, restaurants, hotels, gyms, concert venues and other public spaces at home may as well.
Vaccine passports currently exist in two basic forms: government-issued and company-owned.
For starters, government-issued vaccine passports are slowly appearing country by country. According to USA Today, Israel’s “green card” allows fully vaccinated Israeli residents to enter public spaces, like swimming pools and concerts. Furthermore, Conde Nast Traveler reports that the European Commission has proposed the “Digital Green Pass” to allow easier travel between member states, and Denmark and Sweden plan to have developed their own vaccine passports by summer.
For its part, the United States government is still in the starting phases.
Earlier this month, “President Biden… asked federal agencies to explore options,” according to the New York Times.
It’s not yet clear if and when the U.S. vaccine passports will be available. We’re a bit behind in the game, but perhaps we can follow the solutions being proposed in other countries.
In addition to government-issued vaccine passports, private companies are developing their own models in the form of user-friendly phone apps to which users can upload their health information. These apps are better described as “health passes” than “vaccine passports” as they often allow you to verify your test status along with proof of vaccination.
According to the Washington Post, several such apps are in the trial-phase as we speak.
The trusted-traveler program Clear is testing its “Clear’s Health Pass” app in certain flights into Hawaii. The nonprofit Commons Project Foundation’s “Commonpass” and the International Air Transport Association’s “IATA Health Pass” are also being tested on international flights in partnership with certain airlines.
At first glance, vaccine passports, both government-issued and company-owned, seem like an obvious step in the right direction. After all, they will bring reopened economies, a return to normality, reduced virus transmission rates and even further incentive to get vaccinated. However, news outlets report a glaring ethical issue.
“Granting special rights for the vaccinated, while tightening restrictions on the unvaccinated, risks widening already-dangerous social gaps,” warned the New York Times.
If vaccinations and vaccine passports are mandated, unequal access to vaccines will translate to unequal access to certain spaces, services and even jobs. On a domestic scale, this will discriminate along racial lines, and on a global scale, against lower-income countries.
For that reason, a range of actors have pushed against vaccine mandates, including the World Health Organization.
“Quite simply, vaccination is just not available enough around the world and is not available certainly on an equitable basis,” Michael Ryan, executive director of WHO said.
Similarly, Conde Nast Traveler reports that travel industry voices would like the U.S. to rely on a combination of vaccinations, tests, and statements of recovery in order to verify if an individual is COVID-safe. The European Commission proposed a similar strategy with their “Digital Green Pass.”
In essence, different countries and actors differ in their stance, but international discussion appears to lean toward a “health pass” model rather than the “vaccine passport.” This way, unequal access to vaccines will be less likely to disproportionately cut off disadvantaged populations from public activity and services.
So, returning to our initial question: how do these health passes and/or vaccine passports affect Gusties?
Right now, they don’t. The U.S. government is still in the planning phase, and company apps are currently being tested, so vaccine passports simply aren’t available.
However, we will need them soon, particularly for travel. Conde Nast Traveler reports that many airlines have partnered with traveler apps in order to standardize test results and health requirements among their own passengers. Airlines like Qantas and Virgin Atlantic have even indicated they might mandate vaccinations for all passengers.
Furthermore, you will likely need a vaccine passport to enter certain countries in the future. According to U.S. embassies, countries such as Lebanon and Bellize have already announced that they will admit Americans who can present proof of vaccination. Other nations like Poland and Thailand still do not allow American visitors, but they have lifted quarantine and testing requirements for vaccinated visitors from other countries.
In the future, vaccine passports and health passes will likely become the standard for travel, if not for everyday access to public spaces here at home. But for now, they are still in their developing stages. For now, we wait.