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Twelve criteria for the development and use of COVID-19 vaccine passports

By lockdown_exit - 5th Mar 2021, 12:00 am - That was the week that was

Twelve criteria for the development and use of COVID-19 vaccine passports

Vaccine passports are certificates to establish proof of vaccination linked to the identity of the holder; the purpose of a passport is to aid the return to pre-COVID-19 activities and allow travel without compromising personal or public health

This rapid review of vaccine passports is from the Royal Society to assisting the understanding and control of COVID-19

Vaccine passports are certificates to establish proof of vaccination linked to the identity of the holder; the purpose of a passport is to aid the return to pre-COVID-19 activities and allow travel without compromising personal or public health.

We propose 12 criteria that should be satisfied by a COVID-19 vaccine passport. A passport should:

  • Meet benchmarks for COVID-19 immunity;
  • Accommodate differences between vaccines in their efficacy, and changes in vaccine efficacy against emerging SARS CoV-2 variants.
  • It should be: internationally standardised with
  • Verifiable credentials
  • For defined uses, and
  • Based on a platform of interoperable technologies
  • Secure for personal data
  • Portable
  • Affordable for individuals and governments.
  • Legal
  • Ethical (equity and non-discrimination) standards,
  • The conditions of use should be understood and accepted by passport holders.

Current evidence suggests that a COVID-19 vaccine passport system is feasible, but that not all criteria have yet been satisfied and consideration should be given to what longer term precedents (e.g., commercial accessibility of registers, expanded state health surveillance) this may create