US, EU, and Others Begin Developing 'Vaccine Passport'... Overseas Travel Just Around the Corner

Development of Vaccine Certificate
Proof of Vaccination Status via QR Code Without Personal Information Exposure

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The United States, the European Union (EU), and other regions that have begun COVID-19 vaccinations are developing 'vaccine passports' to prove vaccination status.

The idea is to create digital certificates that vaccinated individuals can use to verify their vaccination status when entering other countries or visiting places like movie theaters and concert halls.

According to CNN on the 27th (local time), the Commons Project, a non-profit organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and the World Economic Forum (WEF) have launched the 'Common Trust Network' plan to develop the 'CommonPass' app for this purpose.

Using the CommonPass app, people can update medical data such as COVID-19 test results and vaccination certificates issued by hospitals and medical professionals. Only medical certificates or passes that can be presented as proof to health authorities without exposing sensitive personal information are issued in the form of QR codes. Additionally, the app displays a list of required health passes depending on the departure or arrival location when users input their travel itinerary.

They are collaborating with airlines such as Cathay Pacific, JetBlue, Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and hundreds of medical institutions in Aruba, a Dutch Caribbean island, to carry out the development work.

Thomas Crampton, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of the Commons Project, said, "You can get tested every time you cross a border, but you cannot get vaccinated every time you cross a border."

Crampton further likened this certificate to the 'Yellow Card,' a yellow fever vaccination certificate required when traveling to Africa, calling it a 'digital Yellow Card.'

Major IT companies are also joining this movement. IBM has developed its own app called 'Digital Health Pass,' allowing businesses, concert halls, conference centers, and stadiums to customize entry requirements such as temperature checks, COVID-19 tests, and vaccination records.

CNN pointed out, "App developers may face challenges such as privacy concerns and varying vaccine efficacies, but the most urgent challenge might be to avoid the inconsistent implementation that occurred with COVID-19 contact tracing apps."

In the United States, due to the lack of unified federal guidelines, each state has independently introduced such measures, resulting in patchwork solutions.

The non-profit organization Linux Foundation Public Health has partnered with the CommonPass and many global institutions involved in the 'COVID-19 Credentials Initiative' to prepare a more organized response.

Brian Behlendorf, Executive Director of the Linux Foundation, predicted, "If this effort succeeds, people will be able to carry their vaccine certificates on their smartphones and present them when boarding flights to other countries or entering concert venues held abroad."

Behlendorf added, "Vaccine certificates should be interoperable, just like email or the internet."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.