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The European Commission plans to create a digital pass to ensure that travelers are vaccinated or have a negative test. In Colombia, it will not be considered to implement it until there is equitable access to the vaccine.
Earlier this month Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, published a trill that could once again turn around the conditions for traveling to other countries. During the month of March, he wrote, the Commission would work on the proposal to create a “Digital Green Pass” which, in simple words, is nothing more than a digital passport that seeks to guarantee two things: that travelers who have already been vaccinated have a document to prove it and that those who have not been vaccinated make it official that they travel with a negative COVID-19 test. (Read These are the new measures to avoid contagion at Easter)
The proposal did not take long to consolidate. Last Wednesday, March 17, the “European Vaccination Passport”, as it has also been nicknamed, was approved by the same Commission, so it would only be necessary for both the governments of Europe and the European Parliament to give it the green light. The logic behind the initiative is simple: to ensure that, for the European summer, which occurs in the middle of the year, tourists from this continent can travel more peacefully to other countries and not lose the millions of euros that this sector produces economic during a key season – only in Spain tourism can contribute up to 14% of GDP. “We want to help member states to reliably return to freedom of movement,” Von der Leyen told a news conference. https://www.elespectador.com/noticias/salud/duque-anuncia-nuevas-medidas-para-evitar-contagios-en-semana-santa/
The idea, however, has not gone down well with the world. If the coronavirus has accentuated anything, it is the gap between those who have the most money and those who have the least, which is why several experts think that having a “COVID-19 passport” will lead to increasing inequality. Dr. Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist at Queen Mary of London University, for example, assured CNBC that, with the current scenario, what this document would do is “discriminate even more against vulnerable populations.” Also, if you think about it. In a future world where this passport is an international requirement, the southern territories would lose, as it is worth remembering that until today the countries of Africa and Latin America, with the exception of Chile, are the most left in the scheme of vaccination against COVID-19. In Colombia, for example, for March 23 of this year, only 1,238,259 doses have been applied.
For others, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), concern about the “coronavirus passport” is directed at the fact that there are still many unknowns that exist regarding vaccination against COVID-19. In January of this year, the WHO warned that at least we are not yet in a position to implement this type of document, because “there are still critical unknowns regarding the efficiency of vaccination to reduce transmission and the limited availability of vaccines.”
Despite this, there are several governments that are already talking about the issue. Greece and Spain, on their own, have considered opening air corridors for people from the UK and Israel who want to visit them, provided they are vaccinated. For its part, the United States, as revealed by The New York Times newspaper, are several states, airlines and technology companies that are pressuring the Biden administration to create a federal standard for vaccine passports. In the words of Julián Fernández, director of Epidemiology and Demography of the Ministry of Health, the measure would only be taken into account as long as it meets three conditions: the first is that there is equitable access to vaccines, since otherwise inequalities and mobility restrictions would be generated for low-income people; the second is that agreements are made between countries within the framework of the International Health Regulations, and the third is the international standardization of vaccination cards.
“This measure is likely to be considered at some point, but an international or regional agreement has to be made for its implementation. In addition, it is likely that more countries will do so unilaterally, but Colombia should consider it in a framework of international cooperation, articulated and considering the progress in the National Vaccination Plan in the country and in the world ”, he suggests.
Packing a vaccination card against COVID-19 may be a reality that we must live in the future, and it would not be the first time this has happened. Currently, one of the best known travel documents is the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, created by WHO itself to prevent further spread of diseases such as cholera, plague and typhoid. But the light for the COVID-19 passport could be far away.
In an editorial published by the magazine Sciences , signed by Professors Christopher Dye and Melinda Mills, both from the University of Oxford, concludes the following: “The choice of how passports are used must be based on exemplary science, appropriate technologies and fair use for all.”
