Los Angeles is launching a digital receipt for the iPhone for COVID-19 vaccinations, raising fears that such tools could become “vaccine passports” that would be needed for activities such as air travel and live concerts.
The plan, which will be launched this week, will make Los Angeles County a partner with technology company Healthvana to issue digital checks, which can be inserted into an Apple wallet or Android equivalent, Bloomberg reported.
The project is initially intended to ensure that people who receive the first approved Pfizer or Moderna vaccine also receive the necessary booster vaccine, including through subsequent notifications.
But the digital receipt could also be used “to prove to airlines, to demonstrate to schools, to demonstrate to anyone in need,” that a person has been vaccinated, Healthvana CEO Ramin Bastani told Bloomberg.
But critics fear it marks the emergence of a vaccine surveillance state, in which digital “passports” are needed for everything from flying a plane to going to the movies.
Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Elliot Ibanez, left, receives the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine administered by LAFD paramedic Anthony Kong on Monday. LA County will soon begin releasing digital evidence of vaccination, raising the prospect of a new “vaccine passport” system
The plan, which will be launched this week, will make Los Angeles County a partner with technology company Healthvana to issue digital checks, which can be placed in an Apple wallet (stock photo)
LA vaccine receipts come as the county emerged as the latest U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, surpassing 7,000 Covid hospitalizations for the first time Monday.
Health officials hope that digital recordings can help streamline the complex two-step vaccination process, ensuring that doses are not wasted for people who fail to receive the necessary booster vaccine.
But privacy groups have warned of the potential future effects of a “data retrieval” of medical information by private companies.
“This extraordinary moment of hope should not be seen opportunistically as another takeover,” the privacy group Privacy International said in a statement.
“The implementation of vaccines and, in particular, any ‘immunity passport’ or vaccination certificate, must respect human rights,” the group added.
A “vaccine passport” system would also raise questions about what to do with people who have natural antibodies to the virus after recovering from an infection.
Vaccines currently administered in the United States are also not currently approved for anyone under the age of 16 due to a lack of clinical data for that age group, raising questions about how children would be treated under a treatment regimen. passports.
Critics fear marking the emergence of a dystopian vaccine surveillance state, in which “digital vaccine passports” are required for everything from flying a plane to going to the movies
And because vaccination has been much slower than the federal government predicted, with just over two million photos taken so far, a passport system raises concerns about a two-tier society that closes those who do not have it. could access the vaccine.
The Australian airline Qantas has already announced that it will start requesting coronavirus photos for all passengers on its international flights.
Companies such as concert venues and live sports, which are desperate to bring the crowds back as soon as possible, have also suggested that vaccine passports could start the economy, a halt until the pandemic is crushed once and for all. .
Last month, Ticketmaster announced that it would launch an option in its digital ticketing application that would allow event organizers to request proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test.
The company withdrew quickly after facing adverse reactions, issuing a statement clarifying that “there is absolutely no requirement from Ticketmaster to require vaccines / testing for future events”.
An emergency worker was vaccinated for coronavirus last week in Los Angeles. The city is one of the first to start releasing digital vaccination evidence
A number of companies are working on digital vaccination verification systems, including IBM and Clear, a security company that uses biometric technology to confirm people’s identities at airports.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is promoting a vaccine passport called the IATA Travel Pass, which is still under development.
The system will inform passengers what tests, vaccines and other measures are required before the trip and will provide digital verification of tests and vaccinations to airlines or other authorities.
Heath data faces strict regulations under federal law that vaccine passport companies say they follow.
The patchwork of the various proposals has also raised fears that vaccine verification systems adopted in one state or country may not be compatible with those in the other.
The Commons project, together with the World Economic Forum and a number of public and private partners, hopes to solve this problem with CommonPass, “a reliable, globally interoperable platform”.
“You can be tested every time you cross a border. You can’t be vaccinated every time you cross a border, “Thomas Crampton, head of marketing and communications for The Commons Project, told CNN Business.
However, Ramin Bastani, CEO of Healthvana, expressed doubt that any vaccine screening service would become ubiquitous across the country.
“It won’t be like a single credit card you can use in the US,” he told Bloomberg. “Sometimes you can pay in cash, sometimes you can use the Apple Wallet.”