With the coronavirus vaccines rolling out across Europe, the US, and the rest of the world more governments and institutions push for mandatory vaccination as a requirement to travel. Or at least for creating measures that would make it difficult for people to avoid vaccination.
The idea behind the push is to develop nationwide or international systems to certify that travelers got the vaccine or have a proof of testing.
Earlier this month Reuters reported that Danish authorities are developing a digital “vaccine passport” for people who have received the Covid-19 vaccine. The passport is to enable people to travel to countries that require vaccination.
“It is expected that there may be requirements from other countries to present vaccine documentation upon entry. A Danish vaccine passport can be used here,” the Danish Health Ministry said in an emailed statement on January 8.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who will be Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor in a Interview for Newsweek expressed certainty that vaccination may become mandatory and necessary for travel.
“I’m not sure it’s (the vaccine) going to be mandatory from a central government standpoint, like federal government mandates. But there are going to be individual institutions that I’m sure are going to mandate it.”, said Fauci.
The state of New York went even further and introduced an Assembly Bill A416 on January 6 that will deprive citizens of the right to decide whether they want to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. If the bill is approved vaccination will become mandatory.
The Common Pass
Another initiative called the Common Pass by the the Common Trust Network project is a form of international health certificate. It “lets individuals demonstrate their COVID status while protecting their data privacy” says a press release.
The Commons Project Foundation and the World Economic Forum have launched the Common Trust Network in collaboration with a broad voluntary network of public and private participants.
The Common Trust Network participating airlines JetBlue, Lufthansa Airlines, Swiss Airlines, United Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic began rolling out the Common Pass to passengers last December on flights from New York, Boston, London, and Hong Kong.
The Airports Council International World representing nearly 2000 airports worldwide has also partnered with the Common Trust Network.
IATA Travel Pass
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) worked on their own Travel Pass: “a digital health pass that will support the safe reopening of borders”, reads a statement from the global trade association.
The IATA Travel Pass aims at securely connecting and passing information between governments, airlines, test laboratories, and travelers. The Pass will be a mobile app for both Android and Apple that users will download for free.
reads a statement from global trade association = https://www.flight-hunter.com/iata-travel-pass-to-restart-international-travel/
The opponents
To counteract the increasing coronavirus industry mandates the America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS) have started the online petition Stop Medical Discrimination. It aims to prevent people from being intimidated or pushed to have a vaccine.
Dr. Simone Gold, the founder of AFLDS, wrote on the petition website:
“Your health and medical conditions are personal and private and nobody should be permitted to violate that, including an employer, an airline, or a government agency. All people deserve medical privacy and equality.”
The petition is not anti-vaccine but rather stands behind people liberties.
The Covid-19 pandemic landed a heavy blow to the travel industry. As a result travel demand plummeted in the past year to a record low. The travel passport initiatives are in hope of restoring travelers’ confidence in the safety of travel amid the pandemic.
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