“The key questions are: Will [the vaccine] will it be available and accepted as part of the new normal in global travel? Said Mark Cameron, an immunologist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. “I do not think it is difficult to imagine. If, hypothetically, France has become a country that needs proof of vaccination to get on a plane, I think this is a step that people would be willing to take. ”
Last fall, shortly after learning that studies for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were successful, Qantas announced that vaccinations would eventually be needed for the trip. Alan Joyce, CEO of the Australian airline, said the move would be “a necessity” when vaccines are widely available.
“I think it will be a common thing to talk to my colleagues from other airlines around the world,” he told Australia’s Nine Network in November last year. The interview immediately made international headlines. “We will ask people to get vaccinated before they can get on the plane. . . for outgoing international visitors and people leaving the country, we believe it is a necessity. ”
South Korea’s largest airline takes a similar, albeit slightly more conservative, approach to vaccines. Jill Chung, a spokeswoman for Korean Air, said there was a real possibility that airlines would require vaccination of passengers. However, she said that it is likely that governments will require vaccinations as a condition for raising quarantine requirements for newcomers.
US carriers have not been as promising in their policies, and many experts believe it is unlikely that vaccination evidence will be needed for trips to the United States for residents. Earlier this month, executives at several US airlines spoke out strongly against the CDC, which requires coronavirus testing to be able to board domestic flights. The CDC has since given up on the idea.
Even the idea of requiring vaccination for airline employees has met with mixed reactions. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has asked other carriers to join him in asking airline employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but both Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines have said that while they will encourage employees to vaccinate, they will not mandate. However, these employees may not have a choice if they work on international flights to countries that require a vaccine.
Dr. Anthony Fauci weighed in on the idea of vaccine passports, telling Newsweek he thought it was “quite possible.”
“Everything will be on the table for discussions,” said Fauci.
The concept of requiring vaccinations to visit certain countries is not new. Several African countries require visitors to be vaccinated against yellow fever. Once vaccinated, they are given what is commonly called a yellow card, which allows entry.
Unfortunately, proof of COVID-19 vaccination will not be as simple as a card. Currently, four major players claim to have the answer to the riddle and hope that their digital health passports will become the international standard. IBM, Clear, the International Air Transport Association and the Commons Project Foundation are all in various stages of testing or launching their digital passports. While all applications will have multiple functions, the common denominator allows authorized laboratories and test centers to securely share test and vaccination information, which would allow travelers to demonstrate proof of vaccination.
“We were actually working on that before COVID hit,” said Perry Flint, an IATA spokesman. The organization’s Travel Pass app was launched this week. “Genesis returns to the attempt to modernize processes. You go to an airport when you travel internationally and get your passport three, four, five times. What if you could get your paper passport and basically get it on your mobile device, iPhone, or Android, no matter what. And you would only show that once and for all it would be related to you biometrically and practically the systems would recognize you. ”
Since the beginning of the pandemic, health has come to the forefront of the IATA application, focusing on allowing it to connect with an authorized laboratory to share a passenger’s negative COVID-19 test or a record of vaccination. Emirates has announced that it will use IATA’s Travel Pass application.
The global airline industry, which is facing losses of $ 157 billion by next year due to the historic collapse in demand, believes that a digital health transition to certify that passengers are without COVID is the key to resuming international travel.
So far, the most popular choice of airlines is CommonPass, currently offered on selected flights by United Airlines, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, Swiss International Air Lines and JetBlue. Use a digital certificate downloaded to a mobile phone to show that a passenger tested negative for COVID-19. Users can then provide the certificate as proof of a negative test if the country so requests.
But not everyone is convinced that a standardized electronic passport for the vaccine will be so easy to extract in such a short time.
“In some countries where you have nationalized medicine, you can easily track tests and vaccinations,” said Ida Bergstrom, a Washington DC doctor who specializes in immunization, vaccination and travel drugs. “It simply came to our notice then. What will be synchronized with the airlines or what will be synchronized with these governments and how will this be done? I can see a disaster coming. They have been talking about COVID passports since day one and I am not sure of its practical nature. ”
There are other issues in the game. A vaccination passport would restrict people from economically disadvantaged countries who do not have access to a vaccine. Carrying out the full digital process could also be difficult for travelers who do not use mobile devices.
“It will take a significant amount of time to vaccinate the global population, especially those in less developed countries or different age groups, so we should not discriminate against those who want to travel but do not have have been vaccinated, ”said Gloria Guevara, president and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Health officials also continue to point out that even if a person has been vaccinated, it does not mean that they are safe from the spread of the virus.
“We don’t know what kind of immunity the vaccine actually gives,” Bergstrom said. “Since I was vaccinated, I am very unlikely to have a severe illness, but my lifestyle has not changed much because my husband and children are not yet vaccinated. So if I run to, say, Cancun, I can come back with COVID. Even if I wasn’t necessarily exposed to a huge risk, I could give it to my family and then something could happen to them. ”
Whether or not airlines and cruise ships require a COVID passport, it does not matter if countries start applying for it. Both Australia and New Zealand have been quick to block and stop international arrivals when coronavirus cases occur. It is not difficult to imagine those countries that require a COVID passport. Israel issues vaccinated residents with “green passports” that allow them to patronize gyms, hotels and sporting events. It will also allow them to travel internationally when the country resumes flights. It seems a given fact that incoming travelers will face the same rules.
Despite all the uncertainties surrounding health passports, a besieged travel industry has high hopes for the vaccine and hopes that it, along with a continuous multi-layered approach to wearing masks and social distancing, can help it rise to its feet. . Expect to see more cruise companies, an industry that has been flattened by the pandemic, requiring vaccination of passengers to navigate.
After a year of very limited travel, John Lovell, president of Travel Leaders Group, says the words that few of us, with dreams of exploring the world, want to hear again.
“I see that vaccinations are needed by many airlines, cruise lines and even hotels at the end of the fourth quarter of this year. . . yes beyond. “
Christopher Muther can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Chris_Muther.