The authorities in Hong Kong were reported to be in talks with other countries to share records of vaccinations, to facilitate travel, with Spain’s prime minister also calling for greater cooperation.
The move has raised the likelihood that the return of global travel will rely on sharing vaccination and other health data between countries.
Writing on his blog, Alexandre de Juniac, director general & CEO - IATA, said: “A global vaccine programme will take time - time that we do not have. The immediate risk-management solution is systematic testing. We could safely re-connect the world today, if governments would only move faster on this option.
“We even have a ready-made solution to enable global harmonisation. The IATA Travel Pass, now in pilot implementation, is able to securely verify and transmit test data to authorities; and this could easily be adapted to managing vaccine information. The building blocks are in place to safely re-open borders for people to re-connect, and for economies to re-build. Now we need policy decisions that enable implementation.”
The IATA Travel Pass was a digital health pass to support the safe reopening of borders, one of a number of similar propositions.
The International Chamber of Commerce has discussed collaborating with the WTTC as it trials its AOKpass mobile app, which could allow for greater global travel.
The pass would, the ICC said, allow immune and low-risk individuals to more safely re-enter the workforce based on their Covid-19 compliance status.
The ICC said there was a clear need for “a trusted and standardised global system to share this information in a private and verifiable manner”.
“The response to COVID-19 must be grounded in the reality that lives and livelihoods are inextricably connected. Practical solutions are needed to mitigate the health and economic impacts of the pandemic. We believe AOKpass will serve as a useful complement to government-led efforts to use leading-edge technology to enable a gradual reboot of the global economy while ensuring public health,” said John W.H. Denton AO, ICC Secretary General.
At the end of last year Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez launched Spain’s plan to safely restart international travel which proposed establishing a harmonised system, built on systematic pre-departure testing and the mutual recognition of the validation process for test results issued in different countries.
The concept included reference to ICC AOKpass as an example of a successful electronic verification tool that would enable this system to function, across borders, languages and with absolute respect for the users’ privacy thanks to its blockchain technology.
Sanchez said: “The lack of common protocols for testing, medical screening and quarantines not only hinders economies, but it may also not provide a comprehensive response to mitigate public health risks. At the same time, rapid technological developments in diagnostic tests, including new antigen tests, have opened up possibilities for the quick and reliable diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as for managing international travel in a safer, more effective way.”
France was also debating the idea that travel could be be conditional upon vaccination or proof of a negative test.
If passed, the new rules could come into force from 1 April.
Gabriel Attal, government spokesperson, told ministers: “The objective of this bill is to prepare us for the end of the state of health emergency, and to establish a lasting legal framework to deal with health crises. It is therefore about building a coherent and robust framework using both tools that were available before the crisis, and those that have since been put in place.”
The proposal faced opposition in the government, but supporters drew parallels with the regime put in place to manage Yellow Fever.
Insight: And the Yellow Fever argument was the one which was likely to win as the travel sector attempted to pull itself up at a time when, in countries including the US and UK, the pandemic has never roared louder.
As the vaccine rollout begins, the sector is trying to make it intact to whatever the next normal will be, but aware that the gulf between that and now seems to be becoming wider by the moment. A global testing regime shows no signs of getting off the ground - although mandatory testing for those leaving the UK is at least helping to focus minds in the EU, with a strategy due this week.
While a testing regime is still very much required, long-term reassurance will only come from a vaccine and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. After 9/11 we all got used to being able to spot 100ml using sight alone, after this we will get used to travelling with additional paperwork.