Vaccine Passports to Travel? The testimony of a Peruvian in Israel who already has this

From his home in Beersheba, in southern Israel, the Peruvian Moshé Tapiero Cohen proudly shows the “green passport” that certifies that he has completed his vaccination process against the coronavirus.

He says that he is one of the first compatriots to obtain it because, due to his chronic diseases, he previously received two doses of the antigen of Pfizer/BioNTech needed to achieve immunity.

With 45% of its population vaccinated with the first dose and more than 20% with the second, Israel it has the highest inoculation rate in the world. His strategy now includes awarding a certificate of vaccination, called “green passport”, To those citizens who have received the two injections.

“We have two versions of the passport: one is a small green notebook and the other is in printed format. Both are the same. The document contains all the information about the person, the type of vaccine they received, the date of each vaccination and the expiration period, which is six months.“, he says, who has spent 12 of his 49 years in Israel.

In addition to not having to isolate yourself in case of close contact with a confirmed patient, the document allows you to enter the country after a trip abroad without having to comply with quarantine, but on condition of presenting a test COVID-19 negative, according to the Israeli Ministry of Health.

The idea of ​​implementing “vaccine passports“Proving that citizens are inoculated has been extended along with the vaccination campaigns. Some countries that propose its use defend, such as Israel, that these documents can help its citizens travel to other nations more easily.

Moshé Tapiero Cohen received the first dose of the vaccine on December 30, 2020. (Photo: Moshé Tapiero Cohen / Courtesy for El Comercio)

The second dose was applied on the last January 20. (Photo: Moshé Tapiero Cohen / Courtesy for El Comercio)

Tapiero Cohen, who before the pandemic was dedicated to tourist transport, highlights the level of security of the “green passport”Israeli –issued in Hebrew and English–, as it has a QR code so that“any immigration authority anywhere in the world can scan it and know if this document is original or not. This code directs to the database of the same Ministry of Health of Israel to guarantee inviolability”.

“The ‘green passport” allows free movement so that those people can move across borders without any impediment”, Adds the Peruvian.

Travel requirement?

Israel and Greece advanced on Monday along that line. Both agreed to an agreement that will allow their vaccinated citizens who can certify it to travel between them without limitations, once the flights are resumed.

However, each country that evaluates the issue has its own qualms and considerations.

Moshe shows a print of his green passport. (Photo: Moshé Tapiero Cohen / Courtesy for El Comercio)

This week, the British Government joined the debate by stating that it is ready to facilitate “vaccination passports”For international travel if required by other countries, although its internal use was ruled out.

Days ago, British Transport Minister Grant Shapps said that he is in talks with his counterparts in the United States and Singapore about the possibility of creating an international certification system that allows travel if one is free of the virus.

“It is very likely that in the future there will be an international system so that countries can potentially check if one has been vaccinated or tested before traveling”He told BBC Radio 4.

Meanwhile, Sweden and Denmark announced in early February that in the coming months they will develop “vaccination passports”Electronic devices to facilitate trips abroad, as well as to attend cultural or sporting events.

Fixes and challenges

Given the attention that the “vaccine passports“Are receiving from various countries and the tourism industry, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) expressed doubts this week about the” insufficient evidence on the efficacy of vaccines in reducing transmission “of the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated at the beginning of the year that it opposes these documents being used as a requirement for travel.

In the middle of the vaccination campaign, the next step would be to ask citizens for a document that proves that they are immunized in order to travel abroad. (Photo: AFP)

When commenting on the possibility that a passport system of vaccines exists globally, Marten Kaevats, an advisor to the Estonian government on technology, recently told AFP that the main challenge is ensuring that anyone who verifies the certificate can “trust the source.” He added that an orderly and efficient global digital ID is unlikely to exist in the coming months.

Another concern is that these passports can cause discrimination.

“The challenge at the moment is to create a document or application that is accepted around the world, that protects privacy and that is affordable for anyone regardless of their economic level or if they have access to smartphones“Said the American newspaper” The New York Times “.

“I think that this is something positive because it certifies that one is protected and that way we can circulate with more freedom. Of course, this does not free us from getting infected. You must continue to comply with all security measures. But the passport provides security. It is a great measure because it will allow us to go from one point to another without any problem”, Says the Peruvian Moshé Tapiero.