Once people are vaccinated against COVID-19, how can they demonstrate that they have this protection?
By showing a “vaccine passport,” perhaps in the form of a smartphone app.
Israel, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other governments are creating such digital documents, as are private organizations. President Joe Biden is assessing whether the U.S. should have them.
Yet vaccine passports have met resistance.
Critics, including the World Health Organization, worry that they might exacerbate inequality, undermine privacy or simply not work very well. These concerns ought to be addressed, but they shouldn’t veto a useful tool.
There’s no question the vaccine rollout should be managed with equity in mind, and care should be taken to ensure passports don’t make this any harder. Proof of vaccination can be provided in different ways, so people aren’t excluded. But the main thing is to deliver vaccines as quickly and equitably as possible. Denying freedom of movement to people who, once vaccinated, pose little danger to themselves or others merely introduces another kind of injustice.
Privacy is another concern.
People resist revealing their personal medical details to strangers. But a vaccine passport can say a person is free of COVID-19 or protected against it without going into detail. Passports should be able to provide a simple yes-or-no answer to the question “Does this person meet this facility’s COVID-related entry requirements?”
But would the passports actually work as intended?
They certainly couldn’t guarantee someone is virus-free or safe from infection because tests and vaccines provide less-than-total protection. Nevertheless, passports can signify that the bearers are guarded against severe disease and death, and are less likely than the unvaccinated to carry the virus and infect other people.
Keep in mind, vaccine passports are meant to be temporary. As populations are more broadly inoculated and COVID-19 fades, the world will be able to again operate without them.
In the meantime, they can encourage widespread vaccination, and enable airlines, restaurants, offices and other businesses to come back to life quickly and safely.
— Bloomberg Opinion
