We could soon have to travel with not one but two passports. One to prove our identity, and another to prove we have been vaccinated against Covid-19.
The idea of vaccine passports has already been embraced by some countries, such as Greece and Israel, keen to welcome back holidaymakers and business travellers as soon as possible. And the UK has its own plans: vaccine certificates for travellers who want to holiday abroad and verify their Covid inoculations are to be developed by the Government after being backed by Cabinet ministers.
Plans are in place to offer all adult Britons their first dose of vaccine by 31 July, though any vaccine passport would not likely be granted until the second jab is complete.
Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, will lead work on options for the certificates, which would operate in a similar way to yellow fever cards. They are being prepared in anticipation of an agreed international system for countries to accept certificates as a condition of entry for travellers.
Many airlines, including Etihad, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Air New Zealand, are also trialling methods to support the idea. A Digital Health Pass app, devised by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), will be ready “within weeks”, developers have said. The technology will enable air passengers to prove their vaccination status before travelling, and IATA is reportedly in talks with the UK Government, too.
But there are mounting concerns and questions about privacy, the feasibility of international coordination, and whether such a programme would discriminate against those who have not been vaccinated.
Here we take a deep dive into how a vaccine passport might open up our holidays, once we’re out of lockdown and countries begin to reopen their borders.
Which countries might accept vaccine passports?
A number of countries say they are open to the idea of a vaccine passport replacing the need for a negative Covid-19 test certificate on entry.
In December, Cyprus became one of the first countries to say it would waive Covid testing requirements for visitors who have been vaccinated against the virus. ”The amended action plan is expected to further boost the interest of airline companies to carry out additional flights to Cyprus, improve connectivity and increase passenger traffic,” said Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos.
The Seychelles, too, has announced that vaccinated tourists from any part of the world are welcome – as long as they have received the complete dose, have certification to prove it, and more than two weeks have passed since the final jab. Its own vaccination schedule continues apace.
Last week, Iceland began issuing vaccine passports to its citizens. The country had already dropped its quarantine restrictions for arrivals who can prove they have had Covid-19; if you land with an antibody test that is no more than 14 days old, you are free to explore. “The aim is to facilitate the movement of people between countries so that the individuals can show a vaccination certificate during border checks and be exempt from border restrictions,” the ministry said.
The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has also thrown his weight behind the idea of a coordinated, EU-wide vaccine passport scheme. He said it was “urgent to adopt a common understanding on how a vaccination certificate should be structured so as to be accepted in all Member States.”
Hungary has also said it could require visitors to show proof of vaccination to enter. “The need for citizens to provide proof that they have gained protection against the coronavirus is increasing all over the world,” a government spokesperson said.
Are airlines preparing for vaccine passports?
IATA’s travel pass will be ready “within weeks”, say bosses – and is already being trialled by Etihad, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Air New Zealand. Rwandan carrier RwandAir has become the first African airline to embark on a trial.
A number of other airlines have taken steps to develop their own health passport systems. United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Swiss and JetBlue have all said they would begin offering a health passport system to customers this year. BA-owner IAG is also working on its own, due to launch early this year.
Ryanair has sent mixed messages. When questioned about the matter on BBC’s Today programme back in November, Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, stated: “You will not require vaccines to travel on short-haul flights between Ireland and the UK or between the UK and Spain, Portugal or Greece next year”. Yet, one month later, the low-cost airline released an advert encouraging customers to “Jab and Go”, which was later banned by the Advertising Standards Authority.
The chief executive of Australian airline Qantas, Alan Joyce, has thrown his support behind the idea. In November last year, he said: “We will ask people to have a vaccination before they can get on the aircraft… for international visitors coming out and people leaving the country we think that’s a necessity.”
Joyce said passengers could carry an electronic version of a “vaccination passport” that certifies it is acceptable for the final destination country.
What if I am not due a vaccine until later in the year?
Every person aged over 18 will have been offered a coronavirus vaccination by the end of July, Boris Johnson has promised. Unveiling the latest official targets, the Prime Minister confirmed all 45 million people living in England will have been invited to receive their first dose two months earlier than previously promised.
Mr Johnson said: “We will now aim to offer a jab to every adult by the end of July, helping us protect the most vulnerable sooner, and take further steps to ease some of the restrictions in place.
“But there should be no doubt: the route out of lockdown will be cautious and phased, as we all continue to protect ourselves and those around us.” If everything goes to plan, adult Britons will be fully vaccinated – with both jabs – by August.
Can I pay to get a vaccine?
Not in the UK. The Government website says: “The Covid-19 vaccination is only available through the NHS to eligible groups and it is a free vaccination.”
What might the passport look like?
Any official documentation will almost certainly be biometric. The Telegraph has reported that thousands of Britons who have received their coronavirus vaccine are set to be offered a health passport as part of a government-funded trial.
The passport, created by biometrics firm iProov and cybersecurity firm Mvine, will be issued in the form of a free app allowing users to digitally prove if they have received the vaccine. The trial will be overseen by two directors of public health in local authorities and will be complete in March. However, the locations have yet to be agreed, and it is not being rolled out with the view of kickstarting international travel.
Coordinated international efforts to create a biometric vaccine passport system are also underway. The World Economic Forum is developing a CommonPass system with the help of executives and officials from 52 countries, including three from Britain. The federation expects the app, which would develop a QR code that could be scanned by authorities, to roll out within the first half of next year.
Is it fair to demand everyone gets a vaccine passport?
Not everybody is behind the idea of a vaccination passport being made mandatory for international holidays. Gloria Guevara, president and chief executive of the World Travel and Tourism Council, said: “We should never require the vaccination to get a job or to travel. I totally disagree with the approach from Qantas. If you require the vaccination before travel, that takes us to discrimination.”
A 2020 report by the Ada Lovelace Institute, an independent research body, echoes Guevara’s sentiments, stating that the introduction of vaccine passports could “pose extremely high risks in terms of social cohesion, discrimination, exclusion and vulnerability.”
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy the PC Agency, warned of a situation where a privileged few are able to access countries: “Governments have a duty to protect health but also to get the world moving economically. Vaccine passports will initially only be held by the minority. We cannot have a situation where only the privileged few are able to access countries.
“Governments need to coordinate their actions and create an open, consistent approach for anyone who wants to travel. Otherwise we could see numbers restricted for years, until every country has rolled out major vaccination programmes. Testing everyone on departure is the only solution to freeing up travel and tourism.”
There are also questions regarding data privacy and human rights. Anna Beduschi, an academic from Exeter University, said the introduction of vaccine passports “poses essential questions for the protection of data privacy and human rights.”
She said passports could “create a new distinction between individuals based on their health status, which can then be used to determine the degree of freedoms and rights they may enjoy.”
Human rights advocacy group Liberty said the plans “raise more questions than they answer” and “could pave the way for a national ID system”.
So will I, or will I not, have to get a vaccine passport to go on my next holiday?
The most likely scenario, as things stand, is that certain countries, such as Greece, will allow vaccinated travellers to bypass testing and quarantine requirements, while stopping short of banning unvaccinated visitors altogether. However, this may change.
Responding to The Telegraph’s exclusive on a vaccine passport trial in the UK, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said that despite the trial there were “no plans” to introduce mandatory vaccine passports for the population.
However, to date, the Government has contradicted itself on the use of vaccine passports. In December, Michael Gove said that they were “not the plan” but Nadhim Zahawi, the minister overseeing the rollout of the vaccine, said they were “looking at the technology”. More recently, the Government has been in discussions with IATA over its travel pass app, with Johnson admitting they may be key to unlocking arts venues, nightlife and and events.
Do you support the use of vaccine passports? Should holidays be the preserve of vaccinated people? Please comment below to join the conversation.