The European Commission plans to create a digital pass to ensure that travelers are vaccinated or pass a negative test. Implementation in Colombia will not be considered until there is fair access to the vaccine.
Earlier this month, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, published a thriller that could once again change the conditions for travel to other countries. During the month of March, he wrote, the Commission would work on the proposal to create a ‘digital green pass’ which, in simple terms, is nothing more than a digital passport that aims to guarantee two things: that travelers who have already been vaccinated have a document to prove it and that those who have not been vaccinated make it official that they are traveling with a negative COVID-19 test. (Read These Are The New Measures To Prevent Contamination At Easter)
The proposal did not take long to consolidate. Last Wednesday, March 17, the “European vaccination passport”, as it is also called, was approved by the same Commission, so it would only be necessary for both the governments of Europe and the European Parliament to give it the green light. The logic behind the initiative is simple: to ensure that tourists from this continent can travel more peacefully to other countries before the European summer, which takes place in the middle of the year, and not lose the millions of euros that this sector produces economically during an important season – only in Spain, tourism can contribute up to 14% of GDP. “We want to help member states to reliably return to freedom of movement,” von der Leyen said at a press conference. https://www.elespectador.com/noticias/salud/duque-anuncia-nuevas-medidas-para-evitar-contagios-en-semana-santa/
However, the idea has not been well received. If the coronavirus has accentuated anything, it’s the gap between those who have the most money and those who have the least. Therefore, several experts believe that having a “COVID-19 passport” will lead to increasing inequality. Dr. For example, Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist at Queen Mary of London University, assured CNBC that in the current scenario, this paper would “discriminate even more against vulnerable populations.” Also, if you think about it. In a future world where this passport is an international requirement, the southern areas would lose as it is worth remembering that to date the countries of Africa and Latin America, with the exception of Chile, are the most left in the vaccination schedule against COVID-19. In Colombia, for example, only 1,238,259 doses were administered on March 23 of this year.
For others, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), concerns about the “coronavirus passport” focus on the fact that many uncertainties remain about vaccination against COVID-19. In January of this year, the WHO warned that at least we are not yet able to implement these types of documents, as “there are still critical uncertainties about the efficiency of vaccination to reduce transmission and the limited availability of vaccines” .
Despite this, there are several governments that are already talking about the issue. Greece and Spain have only considered opening air corridors to people from the UK and Israel who want to visit them, provided they have been vaccinated. For its part, as revealed by The New York Times newspaper, the United States is several states, airlines and technology companies pressuring the Biden government to create a federal standard for vaccine passports. In the words of Julián Fernández, Director of Epidemiology and Demography at the Ministry of Health, the measure would only be taken into account as long as it fulfills three conditions: the first is that there is fair access to vaccines, otherwise inequalities and mobility restrictions would arise. For people with a low income; the second is that agreements are made between countries under the International Health Regulations, and the third is the international standardization of vaccination cards.
“This measure will probably be considered one day, but an international or regional agreement needs to be concluded for its implementation. In addition, it is likely that more countries will do this unilaterally, but Colombia should consider it in a framework of international cooperation, articulated and given the progress in the National Vaccination Plan in the country and in the world, ”he suggests.
Wrapping up a COVID-19 vaccination card may be a reality we have to live with in the future, and it wouldn’t be the first time this has happened. Currently, one of the best known travel documents is the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, which has been drawn up by the WHO itself to prevent further spread of diseases such as cholera, plague and typhoid. But the light for the COVID-19 passport may be far away.
In an editorial published by the journal Science signed by Professors Christopher Dye and Melinda Mills, both from the University of Oxford, concludes: “The choice of using passports must be based on exemplary science, appropriate technologies and fair use for all.”