The idea of vaccine passports is being more and more often proposed as a possible solution to restore safe travel. This could potentially solve the gigantic impasse currently experienced in the travel sector before the pandemic is fully resolved — something that could still take a while.
A handful of countries have already indicated that they would consider implementing vaccine passports in one way or another. Some of those countries include Spain, Belgium, Iceland, Estonia, and Denmark.
On Friday January 15th, the World Health Organization warned that it rejects this solution for the time being. The WHO Emergency Committee has even asked countries not to adopt the criterion of requiring proof of vaccination against Covid-19 in order to allow travelers to enter.
This is because the impact of vaccines on reducing transmission is still unknown. Also, the current availability of vaccines is too limited. “Being vaccinated should not exempt international travelers from other measures to reduce the risk of traveling,” stated the WHO.
Several airlines and technology groups around the world are currently developing projects for potential apps that create a kind of electronic vaccine passport. This would allow people to prove that they are vaccinated.
The concept of a vaccine passport is not totally farfetched but at this moment it is, according to the WHO, not achievable or reliable.
