Do Coronavirus Vaccine Passports the future?

The use of vaccine passports might sound like a glimpse of hope for citizens of the United States, as the relief of returning to cruises, theme parks, and other venues, and with good reason. Over a year has been marked since the pandemic, followed by lockdowns, quarantines, and deaths started. The joy of celebration and normalcy has been lost since the date the pandemic struck. Any sign of a revival is good news but the question is whether a vaccination passport is that sign. Those who support the use of vaccination certificates or passports, which verify an individual has received a Covid-19 vaccine, argue implementing them will minimize the spread of the virus, offer a sense of normalcy, and revitalize the economy. However, on the opposite end of the debate to show proof of vaccination are those who believe this forced action raises ethical concerns of fairness, question their legality, and will cause further dissension promoting counterfeiting.

Vaccine passports essentially attempt to reduce the transmission and stop the spread of the virus by requiring travelers to show proof of vaccination against Covid-19. As of now, the World Health Organization only advocates the “yellow card” which imposes the intent of preventing the spread of yellow fever. The yellow card was been widely used among many Latin American countries and has worked to prevent the spread yellow fever from immigrants and foreigners. Another example notes that “New Zealand and Australia required the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine for travelers during the resurgence of measles”. It is evident that this example shows that mandating a vaccine has been used in the past to limit the spread of a certain virus. In other parts of the world, traditional and religious pilgrimages were conducted by enforcing vaccine mandates, preventing a large spread of the virus. In India, where the coronavirus has been raging on, the precaution of enforcing vaccines, similar to that of enforcing masks in other parts of the world, mandating vaccines and passports could be the key to normalcy. In Israel, which has the highest vaccination rate per capita, people were able to have access to events, venues, and other places. With vaccination passports, citizens of Israel are able to travel, making clear that passports could be the key to the lock of Covid-19. This goes to show how enforcing vaccine mandates in venues, especially those gathering a large number of people could very well be an ideal way to slow the spread of Covid-19. As shown above, these examples show how vaccine passports are already in use.

These vaccine passports reward those who are vaccinated offering them a return to normalcy. Through the pandemic, families have not been able to travel, as it could impose a risk to their safety. However, vaccination passports could provide a gateway to traveling, as the assurance of everyone on board a plane or automobile would in a way almost guarantee safety. Further examples of proactive thinking by airlines have determined that vaccine passports are in consideration for use to help prevent the spread of the virus. Apart from air travel, cruises would also benefit from passports, as they would be able to reopen near full capacity, as people on board would have to be vaccinated. A reputable cruise line, Norwegian, claimed that “it would require passengers and crew to be fully vaccinated at least two weeks before boarding a ship.” This means that new opportunities are opened for those who received vaccinations and provides an incentive to be vaccinated. While normalcy is in sight with the help of vaccine passports, traveling is not the only frontier where this is true. It has been announced by over 100 colleges that students must show proof of their vaccination before returning to campus. The intent of this rule is to ensure the safety of all students and allow students to feel safe in an environment where everyone has been vaccinated. As shown above, incentives are given to those who are vaccinated.

Vaccine passports are also intended to revive economies. They could provide a new way to ensure the safety of everyone while allowing companies and businesses to return back to normal and travel, hold meetings, and gain revenue. This solution could provide a short-term, or depending on the efficacy of vaccine passports, a long-term boost to a company’s profits and revive plummeting economies. Apart from major corporations, small businesses such as restaurants could attract customers by advertising that their employees are all vaccinated and are not likely to spread the virus. This means that closing business will be able to reopen at near full capacity, thanks to vaccine passports. In addition, people will be able to enjoy activities such as going to sporting events and theme parks, without having to be in fear of their safety if passports are enforced universally at most venues. Skipped vacations and gatherings due to the coronavirus would not have to be compromised with the help of certification that proves vaccination. This just goes to show that with the help of coronavirus vaccine passports, the world will be able to open up and return to a state of normalcy once again. Therefore, these passports incentivize a way to open the world back up.

One huge obstacle to requiring verification of vaccines is the ethical concerns surrounding their distribution. Since the start of the pandemic, a line has been drawn between wealthy and poor nations. Supplies and vaccines have been easily accessible for large nations, while smaller and poorer nations have been lost in the dust. Therefore, the mandate of vaccine passports could cause issues in poor countries, which do not have a sufficient supply of vaccines to distribute, thereby causing vaccine passports to potentially be unfair and biased. Apart from the gap between rich and poor nations, those who choose to be unvaccinated due to lack of proper testing and personal reasons are disadvantaged and left out. Vaccines have been a controversial topic over the years, and in fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, “the debate has spilled over into social media posts, calling the passports everything from un-American to an entry point to a two-tier society that would discriminate against the unvaccinated.” This shows how passports have already surfaced on social media, and the negative effects of vaccines have been brought to light, especially how unvaccinated individuals will be discriminated against if passports become common. In addition to the bias that vaccine passports will create and be prone to, people of certain ethnicities will not have access to vaccines and therefore, not have the luxuries that vaccinated individuals have. Races of low income, often Hispanic, African-American, and Native Americans, will seem to be targeted, causing racism to be an issue if vaccine passports are universally decreed. This profound inequity in the distribution of vaccines, both in the US and around the world raises ethical issues of fairness.

A second concern from the opposition centers around the legality, or constitutionality of requiring a citizen to show proof of vaccination. According to Lawrence O. Gostin, a University Professor at Georgetown University and Founding O’Neill Chair in Global Health Law, “employers must also offer exemptions to vaccine requirements for medical reasons and sincerely held religious beliefs, or offer reasonable accommodations,” in order to not infringe the rights of people held by the Constitution. While states have the rights to make vaccinations mandatory at public venues, in order to abide by the law, exemptions must be allowed. These vaccine passports could also raise privacy concerns regarding the safety of having a vaccine passport on a phone, where information contained in apps could be leaked. As this would lead to confidential health information being exposed and violate privacy laws, vaccine passports might not be an ideal solution and instead cause issues in the future. In addition, vaccine passports would be illegal to implement in churches, religious institutions, and certain other venues, as they would restrict a person’s rights as listed by the constitution and using coronavirus vaccine passports at these venues has to be thought through and exemptions must be provided in order to abide by the Constitution. All in all, mandating vaccination records poses legal issues.

A final issue presented by those who disagree with the idea of a vaccine passport is how easily they can be faked. According to a letter from 46 of the country’s state attorneys, “People who buy fake cards can have their own information added to the card or add it in themselves, so it appears they have been vaccinated when they have not.” Clearly, fake passports put the health of vaccinated individuals at risk, as people with fake passports who have not been vaccinated potentially expose them to the virus. In addition, adding to the easy ability of people to forge vaccination passports, many individuals post their vaccination passports on social media and show their cards to others, causing criminals to have easier access to reference passports to create and distribute counterfeits. This makes it evident that fraudulent vaccine passports and certificates are easy to make and in fact are on sale in mainstream stores, where fraudulent sellers are trying to be blocked and removed to avoid the distribution of fake records. The actions of people forging certifications show how there is an evident loophole in passports, making them easy to replicate and even easier to have access to venues where people who have truly been vaccinated will be exposed. Forcing individuals to prove they are vaccinated will likely cause them to revolt even more.

A certification or passport containing a record of whether or not an individual has been vaccinated, as stated by proponents, has the potential to significantly reduce the spread of the virus, revive the feeling of normalcy, and strengthen the economy. However, the opponents of showing proof of vaccination argue that passports are unfair to implement, are susceptible to issues regarding the legality and will result in counterfeit certificates of vaccination, further aggravating the spread of the coronavirus if businesses open. Therefore, the question truly is open to interpretation; what do you think?

*NOTE: This was not written by a health professional. This article was written to provide information and raise awareness. Please consult your doctor before taking the vaccine and use research to evaluate your decision on whether or not to get a vaccine passport.

Works Cited:

• Travel Is Increasing As People Become Fully Vaccinated. Here’s What To Look Out For

• New CDC Guidelines For Fully Vaccinated Travelers

• Is The Covid-19 Vaccine Mandatory For Travel?

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/05/what-is-a-vaccine-passport-and-will-you-need-one-the-next-time-you-travel/

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/vaccine-passports-what-they-are-and-why-you-may-need-one-soon

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/22/covid-vaccine-passports-everything-we-know-so-far.html