Brendan McDermid | Reuters
LONDON – A Covid digital vaccination passport is being jointly developed by a group of health and technology companies who anticipate that governments, airlines and other companies will soon start asking people for evidence that they have been inoculated.
On Thursday, a coalition known as the Vaccination Credential Initiative was announced – which includes Microsoft, Salesforce and Oracle, as well as the US non-profit Mayo Clinic.
VCI said it wants to develop a technology that allows people to obtain an encrypted digital copy of their immunization credentials that can be stored in a digital wallet of their choice, such as Apple Wallet or Google Pay. He suggested that anyone who does not have a smartphone can receive printed paper with QR codes that contain verifiable credentials.
The coalition said it would also try to develop new standards to confirm whether or not a person had been inoculated against the virus. Previously, citizens used vaccination brochures to keep track of travel vaccines, but authorities rarely ask to see them.
“The purpose of the vaccination accreditation initiative is to empower people with digital access to their vaccination records,” Paul Meyer, CEO of the nonprofit organization The Commons Project, which is a coalition member, said in a statement.
He added that the technology should allow people to “safely return to travel, work, school and life, while protecting data confidentiality.”
Bill Patterson, executive vice president and CEO of enterprise software company Salesforce, said his company wants to help organizations “customize all aspects of the vaccination management lifecycle and integrate closely with the offerings of other coalition members. it will help us all get back to public life. “
“With a unique platform to help deliver safe and seamless operations and build trust with customers and employees, this coalition will be crucial to supporting public health and well-being,” Patterson added.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The vaccine shares the opinion
While many people are just waiting to protect themselves from the virus, some are convinced that they will not receive the jab, leaving the populations divided into those who have been vaccinated and those who have not. In the UK, one in five says they are unlikely to receive the vaccine, according to YouGov research published in November, citing a variety of different reasons.
Millions of people around the world still do not want to be vaccinated, according to opinion polls. Some are afraid of needles, some believe in unfounded conspiracy theories and some are worried about potential side effects. Others simply do not believe that vaccination is necessary and would rather risk catching Covid.
As a result of differing views, a debate could begin in 2021. Should restrictions be placed on people who choose not to get vaccinated, given that they can catch and spread the virus?
It is a difficult subject, but governments are already looking at introducing systems that will allow authorities and, possibly, businesses to find out whether or not a person has had a Covid vaccine.
In December, it emerged that Los Angeles County intends to allow beneficiaries of the Covid vaccine to store proof of immunization in the Apple wallet on the iPhone, which can also store tickets and boarding passes in digital form. Officials say it will be used first to remind people to get a second vaccine, but eventually it could be used to gain access to concert venues or airline flights.
China has launched an application for the health code that shows if a person has no symptoms to be able to register in a hotel or to use the subway. In Chile, “virus-free” certificates have been issued to citizens who have recovered from coronavirus.
On December 28, Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa said the country would create a register to show who refused to be vaccinated and that the database could be distributed across Europe.
Elsewhere, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said in April that immunity passports could be used to help flyers feel more confident in their personal safety while traveling.
A Ryanair spokesman said “vaccination will not be a requirement when Ryanair flies” when CNBC asked if it would ever prevent unvaccinated people from flying on its aircraft. British Airways, Qantas and easyJet did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Isra Black, a law professor at York University, and Lisa Forsberg, a postdoctoral fellow at Oxford University who research medical ethics, told CNBC that “it’s not easy to say if it would be ethically permissible for a state. to impose restrictions “on persons who refuse a jab.
Academics said in a joint statement by e-mail that the answer will depend on factors such as the supply of vaccines, the level of vaccination in the population, the nature of the restrictions imposed on vaccine deniers and how the restrictions are operationalized.
“We might think that there are strong, though not necessarily decisive, reasons for restrictions on regaining pre-pandemic freedoms for people who refuse vaccination for Covid-19, for example, on their freedom to assemble,” he said. Black and Forsberg. “There is the potential for unvaccinated people to get a serious case of coronavirus, which we believe would be bad for them, but could also affect others, for example, if health resources need to be removed from noncovide care.”