On Friday April 5, the CDC released new guidelines for travel. Fully vaccinated travelers are now able to safely travel within the United States without getting COVID tested or self-quarantining. Vaccinated travelers should still wear masks as they are required for everyone on planes, buses, trains, and other public transit, avoid crowds, stay six feet apart from others, and wash their hands and use hand sanitizer frequently.
How does it work?
As of now, there isn’t a consistent and uniformed digital health passport system in the United States, so travelers are encouraged to laminate their vaccination card and use that as proof of vaccination. However, it is likely a digital system will roll out in the near future, so here’s what you need to know about Health Passports.
A COVID Health Pass is documentation that an individual has either been vaccinated, recovered from COVID, or tested negative within the past three days. A Vaccine Passport is documentation that an individual has been vaccinated. While the US is still using physical vaccination cards, they will probably be presented as a QR code soon. According to CNBC, it’s unlikely that the government will require everyone to get a Vaccine Passport, the implications of not getting one could be so inconvenient that 73.6% of Americans said that they would use a Health Pass or Vaccine Passport.
Opposition
There are still many objections to Vaccine Passports in regard to vaccine accessibility, privacy, and safety. While a majority of adults will be vaccinated by the middle of 2022, it could take middle-income countries until 2023 and low-income countries until 2024 to vaccinate the majority of their population. Daily UK News writes that “it underscores the stark divide between high-income and low-income countries when it comes to vaccine access.” The UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission said that vaccine passes could lead to “unlawful discrimination.” In addition, people are also concerned about the implications vaccine or health passports could have for privacy and free movement. Florida and Texas have banned businesses from using vaccine passports and Tennessee is supporting legislation against them.
However, this isn’t the first time that a health pass of sorts has been required. In fact, COVID Health Passports are a lot like the “Yellow Cards” that are required for entry into countries that require vaccination against malaria, diphtheria, and other diseases. Similarly, children enrolled in US schools are already required to show proof of vaccination.
Vaccine Passports in Action
Some countries and states have already begun putting Vaccine and Health Passports into practice.
Sweden
Sweden is launching its own digital health passport. Sweden plans to launch their passport by summer and it will be required for travel as well as other activities.
Denmark
Denmark just started their “Corona Passport” app. The passport says whether a person has a negative test within the last 72 hours, has been vaccinated, or has recovered. Like Sweden, Denmark plans to use the passport for more than just travel. Starting April 6, they’re required for hairdressers and outdoor dining when it reopens on April 21. Paper certificates are also available in Denmark.
Iceland
Iceland began issuing vaccination certificates in January to ease international travel. Travelers entering the country with a vaccination certificate will be exempt from border restrictions and they plan to honor similar vaccination certificates from other countries as well.
Israel
Israel introduced the Green Pass app that shows whether people have been fully vaccinated against COVID or if they have presumed immunity after recovering from COVID. Masks remain mandatory, but the country has started reopening hotels, gyms, street-side shops, and more. Green passes are only valid for six months after immunization to account for potential waning immunity over time.
EU
The EU proposed the “digital green certificate” that will allow citizens to travel freely between bloc countries. The certificate would provide digital proof that a person has a negative test result, recovered from COVID, or has been vaccinated each issuing body (hospital, testing center, or health authority) will have its own digital signature to ensure an extra level of security.
France
France announced that they hope to open to vaccinated European and American travelers in May. They are currently trialing the TousAntiCovid app with flights to Corsica and they intend to add a vaccination certificate feature on April 29th. The app could potentially be used for festivals and concerts as well in the future.
Greece
While Greece has not released their own digital health passport system, they are lifting the 10-day quarantine requirement for vaccinated or COVID-negative tourists from the EU bloc, US, Britain, Israel, Serbia, and United Arab Emirates on May 14th.
China
China eased entry restrictions for foreigners with vaccines made in China who have obtained a health certificate. They are launching their own Vaccine Passport through the WeChat program.
Bahrain
Bahrain was one of the first countries to launch a vaccine passport app. Their app, ‘BeAware’ displays the person’s name, date of birth, nationality, and which vaccine they received.
New York
Even New York started using the Excelsior Pass to replace vaccine and testing paperwork to grant individuals access to large scale entertainment venues and sporting events.
Governor Andrew Cuomo says “The question of ‘public health and the economy’ has always been a false choice—the answer must be both.”
New York just opened up arenas, stadiums, large music venues, and indoor entertainment venues, but most places require a negative test result or proof of vaccination. New Yorkers can use the Excelsior Pass app to retrieve and store their health documents until they expire. Vaccine cards expire after six months, PCR results after three days, and antigen test results after six hours.
There are many other digital health passes in the works as well, so if you’re ready to get back to traveling here’s a little breakdown of the passes you should know about.
IBM’s Digital Health Pass
IBM is launching a digital health pass that will allow people to present proof of vaccination or negative test result in order to gain access to a public location like a sports stadium, airplane, university, or workplace. The pass is integrated with Salesforce to help businesses and schools verify test results and vaccine status. Arenas like Madison Square Garden have already started utilizing the app and it’s currently available for iOS and Android users.
International Air Transport Association’s Travel Pass
Thirty different air carriers are testing IATA’s Travel Pass which will allow governments and airlines to collect, share, and access encrypted health information related to travelers’ COVID test and vaccination status. IATA is aiming for a mid-April launch for iOS users and a late April launch for Android users.
V-Health
V-Health is a UK-based contact tracing tool with the ability to make appointments with testing centers nearby. The platform is called Helix Pass and it was recently introduced in Las Vegas to help reopen the city.
Clear’s Health Pass
Clear’s Health Pass is already used to verify negative tests for some sports arenas and quarantine-free travel to Hawaii. Travelers without negative tests are subject to a 10-day quarantine in Hawaii. Clear has a large network of healthcare facilities including over 30,000 labs, pharmacies, and at home testing. Even Walmart partnered with Clear, so the app will also list vaccination status of those vaccinated through Walmart.
CommonPass
CommonPass partnered with COVID testing suppliers, Vault (at-home testing) and X-Pres Check (airport testing) and results are uploaded to the CommonPass app. Right now, the app allows vaccinated travelers access to expeditated immigration lanes in Aruba. United Airlines, All Nippon Airways, JetBlue, and Lufthansa are all trialing the app.
VeriFLY
Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus have been using VeriFLY for certain locations since November. Tests and health insurance documents are on the app, but they are confidential.
International Chamber of Commerce AOKPass
The International Chamber of Commerce represents 290 airlines around the world and they recently launched the AOKPass to allow travelers to present their own health status without losing control of medical information. Medical records are stored only on the user’s phone and cannot be stored elsewhere to protect the privacy of travelers. When using the AOKPass, the information shows up in the form of a QR code.
All in all, the prospect of using Health or Vaccine Passports to reopen the world is starting to look more probable every day. With constant new developments, it can be a lot to keep track of, so we’ll do our best to keep you updated on our newest blog series: Vaccine Passport Updates.
