“The most important questions are: Will [the vaccine] available, and will it be accepted as part of the new normal for global travel? “said Mark Cameron, an immunologist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.” I don’t think that’s hard to imagine. If France is, hypothetically, a country that requires you to have a vaccination certificate to board an airplane. I think that’s a step people would be willing to take. ”
Last fall, not long after news that trials of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were successful, Qantas announced that vaccinations would eventually be necessary for travel. Alan Joyce, CEO of the Australian airline, said the move would be “a necessity” when vaccines are widely available.
“I think it will be normal to talk to my colleagues from other airlines around the world,” he told Australia’s Nine Network last November. The interview immediately made international headlines. “We will ask people to get vaccinated before they can board. We consider this a necessity for international visitors who come out and people who leave the country. “
South Korea’s largest airline takes a similar, albeit slightly more conservative, stance on vaccines. Jill Chung, a Korean Air spokesperson, said there is a real possibility that airlines will require passengers to be vaccinated. But she said that’s because governments will likely demand vaccinations as a condition of lifting quarantine requirements for newcomers.
US-based airlines have not been so forthright about their policies, and many experts believe it is unlikely that proof of vaccination will be required for residents to travel within the United States. Earlier this month, executives from several US carriers spoke out vigorously against the CDC requiring coronavirus testing to board domestic flights. The CDC has since dropped the idea.
Even the idea of requiring vaccination for airline employees met with mixed reactions. Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, asked other airlines to join him in requiring airline employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but both Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines said they will encourage employees to get vaccinated, but will not oblige it. However, those workers may not have a choice when they work on international flights to countries that need a vaccine.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has considered the idea of vaccine passports and told Newsweek that he thinks it is “very possible.”
“Everything will be on the table for discussion,” Fauci said.
The concept that vaccinations are required to visit certain countries is not new. In several African countries, visitors must be vaccinated against yellow fever. Once vaccinated, they receive a so-called yellow card, which gives them access.
Unfortunately, proof of vaccination against COVID-19 is not as simple as a card. Currently, four major players claim to have the answer to the riddle and hope their digital health passports will become the international standard. IBM, Clear, the International Air Transport Association, and the Commons Project Foundation are all at different stages of testing or rolling out their digital passports. While all apps will have multiple functions, the common denominator is that authorized labs and testing centers can securely share testing and vaccination data, allowing travelers to show proof of vaccination.
“This is something we were actually working on before COVID hit,” said Perry Flint, an IATA spokesman. The organization’s Travel Pass app was rolled out this week. “Its origins go back to trying to modernize processes. You go to an airport when you travel internationally and you take out your passport three, four, five times. What if you could take that paper passport and actually get it on your mobile device, your iPhone, or your Android, whatever? And you would show that only once and it would be biometrically linked to you and in fact the systems would all recognize you. “
Since the start of the pandemic, health has been at the forefront of the IATA app, with an emphasis on enabling a link with an authorized lab to share a passenger’s negative COVID-19 test or a vaccination record. Emirates has announced that it will use IATA’s Travel Pass app.
The global airline industry, facing $ 157 billion in losses next year due to the historic collapse in demand, sees a digital health pass to confirm that passengers are COVID-free as the key to resuming international travel.
Until now, CommonPass has been the most popular choice among airlines currently offered on selected flights through United Airlines, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, Swiss International Air Lines and JetBlue. It uses a digital certificate downloaded to a cell phone to show that a passenger has tested negative for COVID-19. Users can then submit the certificate as proof of a negative test if the country requires it.
But not everyone is convinced that a standardized electronic vaccine passport is so easy to obtain in such a short time.
“In some countries where you have nationalized drugs, you can easily follow tests and vaccinations,” said Ida Bergstrom, a Washington DC physician who specializes in immunization, vaccination and travel medicine. “But that is not the case for the United States. What will synchronize with the airlines or what will synchronize with these governments, and how will that end? I see some kind of disaster in the making. They’ve been talking about COVID passports since day one and I’m not sure how practical it is. “
There are other problems. A vaccination passport would restrict people from economically disadvantaged countries who do not have access to a vaccine. Making the process fully digital can also be difficult for travelers who don’t use mobile devices.
“It will take a significant amount of time to vaccinate the world’s population, especially those in less developed countries or in different age groups, so we must not discriminate against those who want to travel but are not vaccinated,” said Gloria Guevara, president and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Health officials also continue to stress that just because a person has been vaccinated does not mean that they are safe from spreading the virus.
“We don’t know what kind of immunity the vaccine actually provides,” Bergstrom said. “Since I have been vaccinated it is very unlikely that I will develop any serious illness, but my lifestyle has not changed much as my husband and children have not yet been vaccinated. So if I ran to, say, Cancun, I can come back with COVID. Even though I wouldn’t necessarily be at great risk, I could give it to my family and something could happen to them. “
Whether or not airlines and cruise ships require a COVID passport does not matter whether countries begin to require it. Both Australia and New Zealand have quickly locked down and halted international arrivals when coronavirus cases do occur. It is not difficult to imagine which countries need a COVID passport. Israel issues its vaccinated residents “green passports” that allow them to patronize gyms, hotels and sporting events. It also allows them to travel internationally when the country resumes flights. It seems obvious that incoming travelers will have to deal with the same rules.
Despite all the uncertainty surrounding health passports, a beleaguered travel industry is pinning its hopes on the vaccine and hopes that, along with an ongoing multi-layered approach to mask wearing and social distance, it can help get back on track. Expect more cruise lines, an industry squashed by the pandemic, to require passengers to be vaccinated in order to sail.
After a year of very limited travel, John Lovell, president of Travel Leaders Group, says the words few of us with dreams of re-exploring the world want to hear.
“I see vaccinations being required by many airlines, cruise lines and even hotels at the end of the fourth quarter of this year. And beyond. “
Christopher Muther can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Chris_Muther