ER
MANY countries are currently undergoing vaccination against COVID-19, and evidence of vaccination may need to be presented to travelers when traveling abroad.
Reporting from Insider recently, currently a number of large cruise ship companies have started asking travelers to provide evidence of COVID-19 vaccination. In recent weeks, a number of cruise ships on the world’s major shipping lanes have begun announcing vaccine protocols for guests and crew.
Royal Caribbean, for example, has announced a series of protocols requiring crew members and guests to be fully vaccinated on board. The cruise ship will set sail from May 2021. Proof of vaccination can come in the form of a physical vaccine card or digital confirmation, known as a vaccine passport.
Although the government and airlines have not required proof of COVID-19 vaccination for international travel, recent developments show that they are not far behind the cruise ship industry.
Applications to digitize proof of vaccination, such as CommonPass, International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass, and Health Pass by CLEAR are already in the pilot phase. Some countries such as Ecuador and Belize make travel easier for people who are fully vaccinated by ruling out the need for quarantine upon entry or showing a negative COVID-19 test.
On February 21, Israel became the first country to launch a digital vaccine passport program. Called the “Green Pass,” this allows fully vaccinated residents to travel more freely across the country than unvaccinated residents.
The EU also plans to allow vaccinated travelers to move without restrictions between its member countries through a passport vaccine program that is expected to launch in mid-June 2021. The World Health Organization is currently in the process of developing standards for digital vaccine certificates.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidelines recently, saying that fully vaccinated people can travel safely in the US without a COVID-19 test or self-quarantine. Ed Bastian, chief executive officer of Delta Air Lines, said the airline will likely need proof of vaccinations on international flights in the future. [bisnis.com/photo special]
