New push in the United States as American Airlines push for vaccine passports, airlines are requesting such a program will make it easier for people to travel during the pandemic. According to the statement, the vaccine passports on mobile phones can help restart everyday life pre-covid times. U.S. Carriers are asking the White House to develop federal guidance for temporary health credentials that would keep track of traveler’s negative Covid test and proof of vaccinations. Instead of carrying pieces of paper, having access to contactless digital health passes would simplify things for the Governments, airlines, and travelers. While the airlines don’t want to make the process mandated, they hope digital health passes will allow passengers to avoid domestic and International quarantine requirements. The digital health pass is similar to the application you use at the airport and events to avoid long queues.
United States Travel Association announced that American Travel’s economic footprint has dropped to 1.5 Trillion from 2.6 Trillion during the pandemic. Following the travel reduction in 2020, the Tourism and Hospitality sector in the United States saw job losses of up to 60%. The travel, tourism, and hospitality industry had supported employment for 11 percent of the U.S. workforce before the COVID-19 pandemic.
What is Vaccine Passport?
Also known as Digital Health Pass,Vaccine Passport is a digital record that carries details about the individuals if they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 vaccinations. Installed on smartphones, it works as an Application or QR code that shows if the person is vaccinated or has a negative Covid-19 test. It will also hold information if the person has already been recovered from the virus.
Instead of carrying cards and papers, these digital documents will be a handy and contactless resource to access many activities in the future.
How are the other countries proceeding with Digital Health Passport?
A few months ago, Qantas Airline in Australia announced International Travelers would need to be vaccinated with the Covid-19 vaccine before boarding the flight through Qantas. Qantas was the first airline on the planet to announce such a mandate; the Australian career declared it could be a standard protocol for all the airlines in the upcoming year.
It’s not just in the United States; the concept is a global one. The European Union is considering people to use free passes to travel safely across the EU countries and abroad in summer. The certificate ensures freedom of movement in a safe, responsible, and trusted manner. China has launched its own App, Monday, that allows people to use the digital health pass to travel anywhere across China. Israel has issued health passes and allows those inoculated to access hotels, gyms, restaurants, music venues, and even cruises.
As for the Middle Eastern countries, Saudi Arabia has launched Digital Health Passport to access travel domestically and abroad for the residents and citizens. As for Canada, PM Justin Trudeau is reluctant to push this idea forward but realizes it might be necessary for International travel. Right now, Canada has just immunized 4.1 Million individuals as of recently, which is 1.69% of its whole populace. As the vaccine delivery and rollout is making up for the lost time, Canada is presently immunizing 100,000 K each day. The government plans to inoculate the whole populace by September 2021.
Will we need Digital Health Passport to travel?
The airline industry is perhaps the most ruthless hit with the pandemic; they would successfully guarantee a place of safety for all travelers and staff. As nations begin to build up their own inoculation certifications, the World Health Organization is hustling to build up a system for Covid Vaccination Certificates that can be utilized worldwide to guarantee norms are met. The digital health certificate can be used to access certain activities like going to restaurants, hotels, and even schools. Even though the Covid-19 vaccination has not been made mandatory anywhere yet, the consequences could be accessing normal activities, most importantly traveling.