As more and more people get vaccinated, a growing sense of confidence leads to more travel either for business or pleasure. Sectors of industry such as travel and hospitality stand to gain from this increased mobility. However, concerns remain on travel safety because of varying levels of infection and vaccination in different countries.
<aside> 💉 A vaccine passport is a certification of the COVID-19 health status of a citizen, approved by inter-governmental bodies that can be carried physically or digitally.
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The passport refers to a person's vaccination status, recent infection record, or a recent RT-PCR result that shows no infection. Most international agencies prefer a digital version of Vaccine Passport for easy scan and data retrieval for verification. Apart from movement across international borders, such certification can also be used to attend indoor events or enter restaurants in countries with high vaccination rates.
Free movement of people across borders without mandatory quarantine is critical to firing the economy on all cylinders. Many economies which rely on tourism can expect an improved flow of tourists with an internationally accepted standard on vaccine passports.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) in July 2021 recommended that proof of vaccination not be required for movement. But on presenting such evidence, nations could relax measures relating to testing and quarantine for such travellers. Even within countries, activities without travel can restart with such passports.
India has achieved a low rate of vaccination which may put its travellers at a disadvantage. Therefore it has expressed reservations about this system of vaccine passports. It is also concerned over passports being granted only to those who had taken some approved vaccines. The European Green pass, for instance, is issued to a person who has one of the four approved vaccines - Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson. Individual member countries, however, can accept vaccines that have the Emergency Use Authorisation of WHO.
This arrangement means that those vaccinated with Covishield can get a passport. Still, the significant proportion of Indians vaccinated with Covaxin on which WHO has not yet granted a EUA are stuck. Another concern is the risk of increased electronic surveillance of citizens using the digital format used for vaccine passports.
The world's governments should adopt a standardised system to provide a fair and inclusive way of assessing the infection risk that an individual carries when travelling across borders.