The global rollout of the vaccines is now well underway – and that means countries all over the world are considering how to reopen their economies. Several nations have already set up their own ‘vaccine passport’ schemes that allow citizens to prove they have had the jab to gain access to certain services, like dining out, going to the gym or attending big public gatherings. And now the EU has confirmed it is working on its own ‘digital green pass’, which will allow those who have received the jab to travel more freely within the continent.
‘The [pass] should facilitate Europeans’ lives,’ Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said yesterday. ‘The aim is to gradually enable them to move safely in the European Union or abroad – for work or tourism.’
It’s a clear sign that countries are likely to take a more coordinated approach when it comes to rebooting their flagging tourism industries – even though the bloc’s 27 member states are said to have clashed over the proposals in recent weeks.
While tourism-dependent countries like Greece and Spain have been pushing for a plan to restart travel in time for the peak summer season, others including France and Belgium have raised concerns about data protection and potential for discrimination between those who have and haven’t been inoculated.
However, the certificates will likely include broader medical history around coronavirus, including information on recovery and recent test results. Of the EU’s proposals, German chancellor Angela Merkel said last week: ‘It will certainly be good to have such a certificate, but that will not mean that only those who have such a passport will be able to travel.’
And it may also apply to countries that aren’t members of the European Union. The EU Commission yesterday said it would work with the World Health Organisation to expand the scheme to other nations. The official spokesperson for British prime minister Boris Johnson added that the UK would discuss collaborating with the EU on its new ‘vaccine passport’ plans.
Full details of the scheme will be released later this month, and the ‘passports’ are unlikely to be launched until June at the earliest. But the fact that an overseas trip might be possible again later this year is – finally! – the positive travel news we all needed to hear right now.
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