A variety of digital and old-fashioned approaches are being used to confirm vaccination for entry to public places. But the world is still far from a universal standard of proof for crossing borders.
It is the latest status symbol. Flash it at the people, and you can get access to concerts, sports arenas or long-forbidden restaurant tables. Some day, it may even help you cross a border without having to quarantine. The new platinum card of the Covid age is the vaccine certificate. It is a document that has existed for more than two centuries, but it has rarely promised to hold so much power over culture and commerce. Many versions of these certificates now come with a digital twist. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a pandemic that has impacted every facet of society so thoroughly, and then a vaccine,” said Carmel Shachar, the executive director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. “There is no precedent since 1918, and we definitely didn’t have smartphones in 1918.” Ramesh Raskar, a professor at M.I.T. Media Lab, has been leading an effort to develop a solution that includes both a paper certificate that anyone can easily carry as well as a free digital pass that works even without cell service. We are going to emerge from the pandemic with a new “currency for health,” he said. Figuring out how these passes should be used and what they should look like is dividing lawmakers, business leaders, ethicists, designers and health officials. A Covid-19 vaccination card does not always convey the significance of the document. Nor are the cards typically designed to counter fraud. Most of the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who got at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccine in the past few months received a flimsy piece of paper. Unlike the easily recognizable “yellow card” that international travelers have long used to document other kinds of immunizations, the designs for Covid-19 vaccination certificates vary from state to state and country to country. In São Paulo, the cards have a green border. In Shanghai, they are stamped in red. In parts of Mexico and Lebanon, they are the size of passports, with the handwriting of the person who filled it out. In India, the certificate is a fully typed printed page. Next to the pronouncement that reads “Together, India will defeat Covid-19” is a photo of the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, a rare flourish. In some parts of the world, vaccine proof has gotten people a range of goods: free popcorn and ice cream, and even discounted beers. But for the most part, they have just allowed people to post selfies or to reassure their acquaintance. Some governments are looking for more formal systems that work on phones and counter fraud. Here is a look at some early efforts. Name: Coronapas (Corona Passport) Could it get you an indoor table? Yes. In Denmark, restaurants have been open for just takeout since December and have reopened this month with the caveat that only those with a Coronapas can sit indoors, the ministry of health said. How about a concert or sports game? That, too. As part of the country’s reopening plans, the government sanctioned indoor seating for sports and other stadium events for pass holders. Anything else? On April 6, hair salons, tattoo businesses, massage parlors and driving schools opened exclusively to customers with Coronapas.
