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AS THE COVID-19 vaccine becomes available and more and more people are vaccinated, vaccine passports or corona virus vaccination documentation are the talk of overseas travel parties.
Forbes reports that vaccination passports will allow many travelers to skip quarantine or diagnostic testing prior to their arrival in a country. It is likely that the vaccine passport will be important for international travelers in the coming months.
What is a vaccine passport like? A digital passport can look like an airline boarding pass with a code that can be scanned on your smartphone or printed in advance. For some trips, you may be able to use the vaccination log card you receive after vaccination.
In Hawaii, for example, local state officials are considering issuing vaccination passports for people in and out of Hawaii and across islands. An application is being developed. Hawaii Governor Josh Green said officials at airports could easily check vaccination cards to confirm their validity.
On a broader scale in the United States, the Biden administration is working on a passport vaccine program as proof you are vaccinated before entering crowded areas such as cruises, premises, and restaurants, according to The Washington Post.
In Europe, local officials are also working on a similar passport vaccination program and it is hoped that it will start this June or just at the peak of summer tourist time.
Israel even already has digital passport applications or “green passports” issued by its government for fully vaccinated people. This “green pass” is required in Israel to enter certain places such as hotels, theaters and gyms.
Currently available digital health passport applications that store and display proof of vaccination such as the CommonPass, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass, and the Health Pass by CLEAR.
The IATA Travel Pass application, for example, is a digital COVID-19 vaccine passport that allows travelers to keep their verified certification for a COVID-19 test or proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is also working on the Smart Vaccination Certificate, which will provide guidelines and standards for digital vaccine passports. Meanwhile, governments in some countries and airlines have not standardized vaccination requirements and how people need to prove they are safe to travel.
“Passport vaccines can be a way to help us get back to normal more quickly. It can make everything we love safer: traveling, going to sporting events, getting back to work, says the director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law in Georgetown. University Law Center, Lawrence Gostin to Insider. [antaranews]
