A Vaccine Passport App?

Epicentre News • 11 Feb 2021

In the future, you may be unable to travel to certain countries without proving you’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19.

When Yellow Fever brought the world to a standstill in the 1960s, we issued vaccine passports and now COVID-19’s demanding a similar solution.

But in an increasingly globalised world we need a vaccine passport solution that can be accepted worldwide, is secure and is easily available to all.

Who is Developing The App?

Big companies like Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce have already been working together to develop an app to support vaccine delivery which they believe is only possible with a ‘strong tech partnership’.

Whether South Africa will be included in this partnership remains to be seen.

Epicentre has already reached out to one vaccine app that is making waves overseas, CommonPass.

CommonPass claims that they will give individuals access their lab results and vaccination records, who will then consent to have that information used to validate their COVID-19 status without violating their privacy.

Forced to Vaccinate to Travel?

The Prime Minister of Greece has already said that his country will not ban travellers are unvaccinated, but that those travellers will be subject to restrictions when they arrive in the country.

These restrictions, will be similar to the current routine, things like taking a PCR test and self-isolating for 7 days.

It’s therefore clear that visitors who are vaccinated against COVID-19 will be in a privileged position, as they will be able to travel freely without worrying about any entry restrictions.

Which Countries Are Onboard?

Several European countries are already introducing exemptions for those travellers who hold a vaccine certificate.

The travel industry is in shambles, and as many airlines, theme parks and other tourism based industries downsize dramatically, governments are looking at vaccinations as a way to get their economies moving again.

  • Poland has started allowing visitors who have a vaccine certificate to enter the country without restrictions.
  • Denmark is currently developing a digital vaccine passport.
  • Estonia is creating e-vaccination certificates known as a “smart yellow card.”
  • Iceland has started issuing digital “vaccination certificates” to citizens who have received two vaccine shots. They have also stipulated that arrivals presenting an approved digital/paper vaccination certificate (in Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish or English) can also enter the country without restrictions.
  • Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal and Belgium now also support vaccine passports from travellers allowing them to visit the country without restrictions.
  • Greece is also issuing digital vaccination certificates.
  • Italy and the UK are discussing issuing vaccination certificates.