As the world begins to open up slowly, a new COVID question is being pondered. Should vaccinations be required for certain activities and should “vaccine passport” systems be implemented? Vaccine passports are simply a record of vaccination that can be used for traveling to certain countries, attending high-risk activities such as indoor concerts, and restarting some pre-pandemic businesses such as cruise lines. They have become very controversial topics due to the ethical implications and the overall “anti-science” approach that conservative parties worldwide are taking to the pandemic. There are some key things to know about how, where, and why vaccine passports will or will not be implemented across the world that I will share with you.
Firstly, there can be different forms of vaccine passports. A vaccine passport can simply be your COVID vaccination card itself or a picture of it. Many municipalities and businesses have also created smartphone apps that record vaccination and COVID testing information. A printed barcode from an app can also serve as a vaccination record that is more secure than the original vaccination card.
Hawaii has implemented the use of the Clear Health Pass app and New York has developed the Excelsior Pass to help citizens gain access to certain event venues. They are voluntary programs that citizens can participate in to gain entrance into designated areas at sports games and even things like concert halls. At travel destinations like Hawaii, the Clear Health Pass can help visitors bypass quarantine and testing requirements, though it is currently only functional for Hawaiian residents.
Travel vaccine passports have especially become popular on the international level. As the E.U. and Iceland borders open up to vaccinated individuals, they have begun working on developing digital vaccine certificates. The E.U.’s certificate will go live by the end of June. Other countries may also follow suit as vaccination becomes a way to bypass quarantine requirements and protect locals from variants. Though American residents will not require vaccination passports for travel to and within the country, international visitors to the U.S. may be required to carry vaccination certification and individual states can also make decisions about vaccination requirements for specific activities. All states will continue to allow COVID vaccination exemptions for medical and religious reasons, as they have for all other vaccines.
Airlines are some of the leading businesses in implementing vaccine passports, working side-by-side with the various national travel regulations to stop the spread of COVID and the variants. The International Air Transport Association, including airlines such as British Airways, Qatar, and Emirates, has developed the AITA travel pass that can be used as a digital COVID vaccine certificate during travel. Other airlines including JetBlue, Cathay Pacific, and United will begin to use the Common Pass app as of mid-June for valid COVID vaccination certification.
Numerous colleges and universities will also be requiring COVID vaccines for students returning to campus in the fall of 2021, and vaccination records will act as “vaccine passports” for college attendance. Assisted living facilities and nursing homes are also beginning to require vaccinations in their residents, specifically since COVID poses the most danger to senior populations.
Though some businesses have also begun to require COVID vaccination records in order to follow CDC guidance and open at higher capacities safely, this has been coming into conflict with state laws.
As of now, 6 American states have placed a ban on vaccination passport use: Texas, Idaho, Florida, Arizona, Montana, and Alabama. Unsurprisingly, these states have large conservative populations and Republican leaders that have been actively participating in COVID denial throughout the pandemic. Some of these states have simply banned local municipalities from implementing vaccination passport systems while others have banned businesses too from implementing vaccination requirements.
Some of the logic behind these bans cites the COVID vaccine requirement as violating HIPAA. HIPAA is a medical information privacy law that is enforced in the United States. However, many places including schools and workplaces still require certain vaccination records from students. This is because HIPAA only applies to the healthcare sector, making it completely legal for other businesses and organizations to require sharing certain health records. For example, proof of a negative TB test is required at most schools to prevent large-scale tuberculosis from spreading through the school system. In the last year COVID has proved how devastating it can be when spread in close contact environments, so from a medical and legal perspective vaccine passports only seem logical.
Another concern, though, is the ethical implication of giving a certain group of individuals privileges others don't have. The reality is that lower-income and BIPOC families have lower rates of vaccination because many families do not have the time to leave their jobs to go get vaccinated and lack access to closely located vaccination centers. A vaccine passport may further increase the class divide if it allows the wealthy to attend numerous events that those who cannot afford to get vaccinated will not be able to. Nonetheless, this is still a barrier that can be overcome without eliminating the concept of vaccine passports. Instead, funding for an increased number of vaccination centers in BIPOC neighborhoods, as well as community engagement in these neighborhoods, can ensure more equitable vaccination rates. Subsidizing employers to allow employees to get vaccinated on work time may also prove effective in helping lower-income families get vaccinated. By doing so, we can then ensure that the implementation of a vaccine passport system remains ethical.
Some businesses are also struggling to go up against state mandates against vaccine passports. The CDC has required cruises to have at least 95% of staff and passengers to be vaccinated, and though the cruises are trying to comply and instigating mandates for passengers, Florida currently has placed a ban on vaccine passports for such activities. The Governor of Florida deems that CDC has “no authority” to set such requirements for the cruise lines to follow. Though the implementation of the vaccine passport system is actually helping these cruise lines reopen with more freedom, Governor Desantis is simply trying to make a move to win the favor of his conservative “covid-denying” fanbase instead of actually helping the cruise lines. It is possible that the cruise lines could take the Governor to court to override his local law, but they will lose his favor in doing so. This is a recently trending conflict that may be resolved in the coming weeks, so I recommend following the news about this.
A possible rebrand of “vaccine passports” as “vaccination certificates” may also improve public reception to this concept. The idea of a “vaccine passport” may be scary to some “leading them to believe they'll be pulled over or stopped and asked to show vaccine papers, which isn't the case” as explained by the founding director of NYU’s Division of Medical Ethics, Arthur Caplain. It implies the presence of an authoritarian government that can infringe upon healthcare rights instead of stronger public health measures for safety reasons. To help ease tensions and help the public understand that vaccine certificates are meant to reward those who are vaccinated instead of penalizing those who are not, the term “vaccine certificate” may be used more. The irony is that I haven’t really used that term in my article, but the name is more important for government officials and businesses to use when rebranding the term. It is also difficult to use a word that is not currently as recognized by the media when writing small scale content, so the change must be more systemic
Vaccine passports, like many public health measures surrounding COVID-19, have been made into partisan, controversial issues even if they shouldn’t be. Seeing how they roll out in the next few months will be interesting. Whether they are implemented or not, I would recommend keeping those COVID vaccine cards safe and taking pictures of them to prepare for vaccination requirements around the world.
Rewarding those who are vaccinated instead of penalizing those who are not is a good idea. A vaccine certificate does sound better for sure!!
A vaccine certificate definitely sounds a lot better than a passport. I think maybe once everyone has had the opportunity to be vaccinated, it should be considered. But definitely not before! Great post