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Now that Covid-19 vaccines are beginning to spread, many people may be dreaming of a day when they can travel, shop, and go to the movies again. But to carry out these activities, you may eventually need something other than the vaccine: a mobile app that acts as an “immunization passport,” reports CNN.
Several companies and technology groups have started developing applications or systems for smartphones in which people can upload information about their Covid-19 tests and vaccines, creating digital identification data that will be displayed at the entrances of concert halls, stadiums, cinemas, offices or even when visiting another country.
The Common Trust Network, an initiative of the Geneva-based non-profit organization The Commons Project and the World Economic Forum (WEF), has partnered with several airlines, including Cathay Pacific, JetBlue, Lufthansa, Swiss Airlines, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, as well as other organizations. The CommonPass application created by the group allows users to upload medical data to their account, such as the result of a Covid-19 test; proof that they have been vaccinated; health certificate or pass in the form of a QR code that can be displayed without revealing confidential information
“You can get tested every time you cross a state line. However, you can’t get vaccinated every time you travel,” said Thomas Crampton, director of marketing and director of communications for The Commons Project. He highlighted the need for a simple and easy way to verify information.
Big tech companies are also intervening. IBM has developed its own application called the Digital Health Pass, which enables companies to customize the data they will need to enter a country or visit a site, including coronavirus tests, temperature measurements, and immunization data. The data is then stored in a “mobile wallet,” reports Bloomberg TV Bulgaria.
In their efforts to meet the challenge of getting back to normal after widespread use of vaccines, application developers may need to face other challenges, ranging from privacy concerns to presenting the effectiveness of different vaccines. But the most pressing challenge may simply be the technology to address the public health crisis by developing contact tracing apps, as was attempted at the start of the pandemic.
Apple and Google then put aside their rivalry for smartphones to develop a joint Bluetooth-based system to notify users if they were exposed to a person infected with Covid-19. Many countries and governments around the world have also tried to develop their own applications.
To foster better coordination, the Linux Foundation has partnered with the Covid-19 Credentials Initiative, a team of more than 300 people from dozens of organizations on five continents, and is also working with IBM and CommonPass to help develop a universally applicable set of standards that will track vaccines and store vaccine-related data.
“If we succeed, I should be able to say: I have a vaccination passport on my phone, which I received when I was vaccinated in a certain country. This can also be used when you have to fly a plane or as an ‘ticket’ to an indoor concert. , where only those who are immunized will be allowed, “said Brian Bellendorf, Linux CEO.
Once you create this passport, businesses will need to make sure that people are comfortable using it and don’t worry about uploading personal information to the platform. CommonPass, IBM, and Linux have emphasized privacy as an important part of their initiatives. IBM says it allows users to control and consent to the use of their health data and allows them to choose the level of detail they want to provide to authorities.
“Trust and transparency remain paramount in developing a platform that acts like a digital health passport or any solution that processes sensitive personal information,” the company said in a blog post.
It’s also unclear how effective vaccines are in stopping the virus, says an infectious disease specialist at Stanford University. So while the application that will serve as a vaccination passport will show that you have received the vaccine, this may not be a guarantee that you will attend an event or board a flight safely.
“We still don’t know if vaccinated people can transmit the infection or not,” said Dr. Julie Parsonet. He explained that until this is clarified, we will not know if the passports in question will actually be effective.
However, the CEO of the Linux Foundation expects the introduction of immunization passports to occur fairly quickly, to have a number of applications offering the service, and to be “widely available” in the first half of 2021.
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