If you read daily updates about the Covid-19 pandemic in newspapers, one term may have caught your attention – vaccine passports.
It essentially means that you can show proof of vaccination against Covid, either on paper or on a smartphone. Actually, vaccine passports are not a new phenomenon.
Travellers heading to Africa for the last several decades have been required to carry such a ‘vaccine passport’ certifying their vaccination against Yellow Fever, an endemic disease on the African Continent. This is strictly a paper document issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and a particular country’s National Health Service or regulator.
However, in this tech-savvy world, this does not necessarily have to be a paper document. Besides, paper documents can easily be forged. Several such cases of vaccination card forgery have been reported from Sri Lanka, Russia and the US.
It is far better to store one’s vaccine information on a smartphone, accessible only by relevant Government agencies or private enterprises that require such information.
The data can be encrypted so that it cannot be intercepted by a third party to pilfer personal information. All you do is let the relevant agency scan the QR Code on your phone and your vaccination status is instantly confirmed. This can also be used to store negative or positive PCR or Antigen Rapid Test (ART) results or recovery status from Covid-19.
In Sri Lanka too, the authorities have urged citizens to always have their Health Ministry vaccination card at hand in case confirmation is needed.
There is every chance that certain doors may not open in the future to those who are unvaccinated. Digital Technology State Minister Namal Rajapaksa has already laid the groundwork for a ‘Digital Vaccination Certificate’ on the lines outlined above.
With most Sri Lankans now owning a smartphone, this should be a viable, practical proposal. After all, most public and private organisations have already successfully adopted the Safe Entry app which records information on customers without any pen and paper input.
Despite certain misgivings, there is no doubt that vaccine passports are necessary. The present surge in the contagion has been described as a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” and it is in the interest of everyone that service providers are able to identify those who have been vaccinated.
Those who are vaccinated are far less likely to get the disease in any form and also spread it around. On the other hand, service providers should have the right to refuse entry to the unvaccinated, who pose a real risk to society.
Many countries including France, Italy and Pakistan have already taken measures to cut off the unvaccinated from most essential services. In France, for example, one cannot enter a nightclub without showing proof of vaccination or proof of a negative PCR Test.
In Pakistan, those who are not vaccinated will soon be unable to board domestic flights. In short, life as we know it will be very different for those who do not get vaccinated by choice. One can call it a backdoor vaccine mandate, but on the very day that France announced the vaccine passport measures, nearly one million people signed up to get the jab.
The prospect of life’s many doors closing on them was too much to bear apparently. Some countries are already thinking beyond vaccine passports to make vaccination mandatory, at least for those engaged in certain vocations such as nursing and elderly care.
Vaccine passports have ignited a huge debate around the world. This is not surprising in a world where some people even see protective face masks as a political symbol.
Opponents of the vaccine passports say that they infringe on privacy and personal freedoms and are discriminatory since vaccination is a personal choice.
That may be true, but they increase the potential for a greater spread of Covid-19. Conversely, others in society also have the right to be protected from those who deliberately avoid vaccination.
Since the greatest good of the greatest number is the goal, Governments cannot and should not be faulted for insisting on proof of vaccination when people enter Government or private venues or seek certain services.
While no Government per se has so far made vaccination compulsory for all their citizens, many Government and private sector organisations around the world have made vaccination compulsory for their staff.
This may appear to be intrusive, but when one analyses deeply, it is the correct approach. After all, the unvaccinated individuals can pose a real danger to others, especially with the Delta variant of the Coronavirus running riot.
It was just the other day that the international news organisation CNN fired summarily dismissed three of its employees for reporting to work without getting vaccinated.
Sri Lankan organisations too should explore the possibility of adopting this ‘no jab, no job’ policy, depending on the available legal and labour law framework.
Vaccination is a social responsibility. Those who do not get vaccinated endanger others’ and their own lives by their reckless attitude and behaviour.
The Government, through Local Bodies and Divisional Secretariats, should conduct a survey on the rates of vaccination and find out about those who hold out on vaccination.
Apart from those who cannot get inoculated due to medical reasons, all others should be encouraged to get the shot, with the caveat that many doors of life could be closed to them if they do not.
They should be made aware of the benefits of having a vaccine passport or proof of vaccination. We should all give vaccination our best shot to see an end to this raging pandemic.