COVID-19 Vaccine Set to Become World’s Most Powerful ‘Passport’ in 2021

Almost a month after the European Union approved the first safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19 developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, thousands of Europeans have taken at least their first jab of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Other world countries, including Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain have started vaccinating their citizens, while others are set to roll out vaccines soon.

With millions of vaccines already purchased and agreements on their purchase on the way, the world is set become COVID-19 immune by 2023, by which time, many hope life will return back to how it was before the pandemic outbreak.

Within less than a year, the pandemic has shocked the economies of the majority of world countries, and brought many industries to their knees, including the travel and tourism industry, which for many countries has been a powerful contributor to their economies.

These industries, cannot wait for the whole world to become COVID-19 immune in order to restart, as the economic losses that world countries have faced are devastating.

That is why many countries are already working on “vaccination passports” in order to enable travel and tourism to restart.

Number of EU Countries Providing & Asking for “Vaccination Passports” on the Rise

Back in April 2020, AtoZSerwisPlus.pl had reported that once a vaccine was finally effective, travellers could be asked to present proof they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to be eligible to enter the European Union and Schengen Area Member States.

An EU official had confirmed for AtoZSerwisPlus.pl at the time, that proof of vaccination would also be required for Schengen visa application and visa-free entry as well.

Now, ten months later, the most recent country to announce its plans on the reintroduction of a document which proves its holder has been vaccinated against COVID-19 is Denmark.

Denmark’s Ministry of Health and the Elderly has announced at the beginning of January that it is working on a “vaccine passport” for Danish travellers, which will soon be available for all Danish citizens who get vaccinated. The document will serve them as a “vaccination passport” to travel to the countries where vaccination becomes mandatory for entry.

“The Ministry of Health and the Elderly is working on a COVID-19 vaccine passport, which is expected to be ready by early 2021,” the Ministry said confirming the plans.

The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has even sent a letter to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urging the Commission to introduce a Coronavirus vaccination certificate in order to facilitate travel between the bloc.

On the other hand, Cyprus had warned early in December 2020, that by March 2021, its border authorities would permit to enter anyone who can show proof that he/she has been vaccinated, in addition to the regular entry requirements (passports, visas, etc.).

Other countries, like Iceland and Hungary, are already applying the requirement of the so-called “immunity passports”, which in essence, is a proof that the traveller has previously been infected with COVID-19 (but is no longer), and now has antibodies in their body.

While currently, Hungary permits almost no one to enter its territory, those from fellow EU countries who can prove they have already had the virus, are free to enter since early September.

Travel & Tourism Organisations Against ‘COVID-19 Vaccination Passports’

Despite that many are welcoming the idea of “vaccination passports” in order to revive travel and tourism, in particular in Europe, many oppose the idea, insisting it will delay the reopening of the world for travel.

Travel experts at the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), a forum for the travel and tourism industry, believe that it will take a significant amount of time to vaccinate the majority global population, in particular those in less advanced countries, or in different age groups.

According to the WTTC President and CEO Gloria Guevara, only a very small share of the world population have so far taken the vaccine; thus, she believes, those who have not should be permitted to travel with negative results of COVID-19 tests.

“Furthermore, the most vulnerable groups should be prioritised, a blanket vaccination requirement would simply discriminate against non-vulnerable groups, such as Generation X, Z and Millennials, who should be able to travel with proof of a negative COVID test,” she says.

The introduction of “vaccination passports” has been opposed by another group, for a whole other reason.

Anna Beduschi, an academic from Exeter University, insists that such a requirement would put at risk the fundamental rights of Europeans by separating people into categories based on their health status.

“[Passports could] create a new distinction between individuals based on their health status, which can then be used to determine the degree of freedoms and rights they may enjoy,” Beduschi believes, insisting that “vaccination passports” pose essential questions for the protection of data privacy and human rights.

Groups of anti-vaxxers, fuelled by the high volume of fake news and conspiracy theories that have been going on for months now, have also rejected the idea of “vaccination passports”.

A survey conducted by the Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) and YouGov on the readiness of people to be vaccinated, carried out in 15 countries showed that only about 51 per cent of participants were willing to get vaccinated in 2021.

French citizens were the least willing to receive the vaccine, with only 35 per cent of the French respondents claiming they would take the vaccine as soon as they are offered to take it.

What Happens If COVID-19 Vaccination Becomes a Mandatory Requirement for Travellers?

If vaccination becomes a requirement for EU citizens to travel to fellow EU countries, and for third-country nationals to travel to the Schengen Area, then several things are set to take place.

First, if the EU obliges travellers to vaccinate, even if travellers who are not vaccinated find a loophole in the requirement and manage to enter the EU territory, travel insurance providers may refuse to cover them.

Representatives of several travel insurance providers confirmed last December for AtoZSerwisPlus.pl that if the EU makes vaccination mandatory for travellers to be eligible to enter its territory, they will update their policies in compliance with the EU regulations, which means they would refuse coverage to those who have not taken the vaccine.

Second, travellers from third countries, which have failed to secure vaccines so far, and whose population will get the vaccines, maybe at the end of the year, or next year, will practically be banned from entering Europe.

Moreover, as the majority of world countries plan to complete vaccination for their whole population only somewhere in 2022, this means that travel and tourism industries will fail to start its gradual return to pre-pandemic levels until everyone is vaccinated, which may take quite some time.