CLEAR health pass app

[Old55]

During my vaccine  appointment they suggested signing up for CLEAR it's a health pass app. It's will be required to visit some places or events here in the US. Perhaps this will be acceptable for international travel soon. 

 

https://www.clearme.com/healthpass

 

Edited March 10, 2021 by Old55

[Guy F.]

New York is rolling out the non-mandatory Exelsior Pass.

https://deadline.com/2021/03/new-york-introduces-vaccine-passport-for-events-business-1234723190/

I'll wait to sign up for a vaccine passport until they get the security kinks ironed out or until I really need it for travel or whatnot.

Edited March 28, 2021 by Guy F.

[JJReyes]

It is best to wait.  There are already many vaccination related apps available.  Wat we need is a government or international association to inform us which one to use.  When returning to the United States from our upcoming trip, American Airlines wants us to use their VeriFLY app.  If we were flying United Airlines, they have their own app.  This is for the Covid-19 test for inbound USA passengers.  

[JJReyes]

The White House just announced the Vaccination Credential Initiative, a government and private industry coalition to standardize how data in vaccination records is tracked.  The format would be digital on a smart phone with a paper version available for those who don't have a phone.  You will need it to attend sporting events, theatrical performances, and to enter other large public venues.  Coordination has started with the EU and the airlines on standards and security.  The goal is to make it universally acceptable.  More information will be released in the coming weeks and months.

[scott h]

On 3/9/2021 at 5:18 PM, Old55 said:

international travel soon. 

 

23 hours ago, Guy F. said:

vaccine passport

 

3 hours ago, JJReyes said:

airlines

I hope my understanding is wrong here. But the way things are going having a V passport wont help entering the Philippines.  The way I understand it is that even if you have the Jab you can still be a carrier. So until a lot more folks get the Jab here folks will probably still need to be tested and quarantined.

If you have the Jab and travel to the Philippines, a person will just not get sick here and be a burden to the local health care system, but you can still infect others.

Am I way off here ? 

[GeoffH]

1 hour ago, scott h said:

If you have the Jab and travel to the Philippines, a person will just not get sick here and be a burden to the local health care system, but you can still infect others.

Am I way off here ? 

If you are vaccinated then you can still catch Covid but the chances of you doing so are lower (somewhat lower to much lower depending upon the vaccine).

There is also the factor that if a vaccinated person does catch Covid then they will (on average) be carrying a lower viral load and be less infectious (so likely NOT a 'super spreader').

Lastly the various Covid vaccines (so far as the evidence can tell so far) effectively protect 100% against disease serious enough to require hospitilization and hence a vaccinated person entering the Philippines would not be taking away a Covid hospital place from a local.

 

Now whether that's enough for the government to decide to relax borders or not I have no idea (and it's up to them to decide of course) but this isn't a yes/no situation, there are shades of grey in play.

[JJReyes]

12 hours ago, scott h said:

 

 

I hope my understanding is wrong here. But the way things are going having a V passport wont help entering the Philippines.  The way I understand it is that even if you have the Jab you can still be a carrier. So until a lot more folks get the Jab here folks will probably still need to be tested and quarantined.

If you have the Jab and travel to the Philippines, a person will just not get sick here and be a burden to the local health care system, but you can still infect others.

Am I way off here ? 

 

11 hours ago, GeoffH said:

If you are vaccinated then you can still catch Covid but the chances of you doing so are lower (somewhat lower to much lower depending upon the vaccine).

There is also the factor that if a vaccinated person does catch Covid then they will (on average) be carrying a lower viral load and be less infectious (so likely NOT a 'super spreader').

Lastly the various Covid vaccines (so far as the evidence can tell so far) effectively protect 100% against disease serious enough to require hospitilization and hence a vaccinated person entering the Philippines would not be taking away a Covid hospital place from a local.

 

Now whether that's enough for the government to decide to relax borders or not I have no idea (and it's up to them to decide of course) but this isn't a yes/no situation, there are shades of grey in play.

GeoffH provides us with a very good explanation.  The following is supplemental information.

You can still catch Covid 19 after vaccination, but here is the latest:  "In total, four out of 8,121 workers at the University of Texas and seven out of 14,990 in UC San Diego tested positive after receiving two doses, according to The New York Times."  

Can someone vaccinated transmit the virus to others?  The answer is, "Maybe yes.  Maybe no."  The experts don't know and they are waiting for the data from studies.  So the experts want everyone to wear masks in the meantime.  

Specific to the Philippines, will the government accept the V passport?  I don't know.  Look at the composition of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).  This is a war against a pandemic, so military generals are in-charge.  Their solution is lockdowns and police checkpoints to prevent spread.  Has it work?  Both logic and science are absent.

Unfortunately, the pandemic hit the world during a US presidential election year.  Somewhat similar to the Philippine military, rather than health experts, the politicians took over.  A majority of the deaths could have been prevented.  And preventable deaths still continues.  The statistics are in a decline are more are vaccinated.  Among those who are 70 years and older, 72% have received at least one jab.  It's time to re-open the economy and celebrate, according to some state governors.  So who are out on the street celebrating?  The 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's age group.  Their vaccination won't begin until April 15th at the earliest.

[Guy F.]

On 3/29/2021 at 7:57 AM, JJReyes said:

 

 

Can someone vaccinated transmit the virus to others?  The answer is, "Maybe yes.  Maybe no."  The experts don't know and they are waiting for the data from studies.  So the experts want everyone to wear masks in the meantime.  

 

"New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that people who are fully vaccinated are unlikely to transmit the coronavirus to others."

From https://kdvr.com/news/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/cdc-data-vaccinated-people-unlikely-to-spread-coronavirus/

[Guy F.]

Here's the best summary I've seen so far of the travel pass topic.

https://pointmetotheplane.boardingarea.com/are-digital-health-passport-apps-air-travels-newest-requirement/#When_Will_One_Standardized_Digital_Health_Passport_Be_Ready

[Snowy79]

20 hours ago, Guy F. said:

Here's the best summary I've seen so far of the travel pass topic.

https://pointmetotheplane.boardingarea.com/are-digital-health-passport-apps-air-travels-newest-requirement/#When_Will_One_Standardized_Digital_Health_Passport_Be_Ready

Reading into the British Medical Journal there appears to be a few areas that need to be ironed out.  The good old human rights issues are being brought to the fore as they don't want to stigmatise those that are unable to get the vaccine for one reason or another and it's supported by the World Health Organisation. Gone are the days when the majority mattered apparently.

https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n861

Spoiler

 

Governments should proceed with great caution through this minefield

With millions of people receiving covid-19 vaccines globally, some countries have already started planning the implementation of “vaccine passports”—accessible certificates confirming covid-19 vaccination linked to the identity of the holder. The purpose of vaccine passports, governments argue, is to allow people to travel, attend large gatherings, access public venues, and return to work without compromising personal safety and public health.1 There remain, however, considerable practical and ethical challenges to their implementation.

Vaccine passports are not only permissible under international health regulations, they already exist. The World Health Organization endorses certificates confirming vaccination against yellow fever for entry into certain countries.2 Contrary to immunity passports, which may, perversely, incentivise infection, vaccine passports incentivise vaccination,3 an international public good with many positive benefits4 including individual and population immunity.

The public health principle of least infringement states that to achieve a public health goal, policy makers should implement the option that least impairs individual liberties.5 While lockdowns may be required, the continued restriction of the civil liberties of those who are immune and pose minimal risk of spreading infection may be unethical, as lack of freedom of movement is one of the most common adverse impacts of the pandemic on people’s lives.36 Additionally, vaccine passports could help prevent other health and socioeconomic harms caused by lockdowns, thereby accruing individual and collective health, economic, and social benefits.

For vaccine passport holders to demonstrate protection from illness and lack of infectiousness, however, more evidence about the long term effectiveness of different types of vaccines and the duration of protection they confer is required, particularly with the regular emergence of new variants. The AstraZeneca vaccine may reduce transmission by up to 67% while the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is 85% effective in preventing asymptomatic and symptomatic infections after the second dose, 78 generating indirect benefits that extend to unvaccinated individuals through a reduction of SARS-CoV-2 circulation. Given that there are currently more than 200 vaccine trials underway, however, establishing the characteristics of each vaccine for the purpose of passport renewal would be challenging.

Vaccine passports need to be internationally standardised and must have verifiable credentials that safeguard against problems such as forgery and loss of privacy. WHO does not currently endorse covid-19 vaccine or immunity passports because of these concerns.9 It has, however, initiated a Smart Vaccination Certificate Working Group to establish key specifications and standards for effective and interoperable digital solutions for covid-19 vaccination.

Ethical concerns remain about the societal divide that these passports could cause. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics states that such passports could enable coercive and stigmatising workplaces, thereby compounding current structural disadvantages.10 Vaccine passports must be available and accessible to all to prevent exacerbating existing societal inequalities and worsening the health divide. Vaccines are scarce and access remains unequal, both globally and within countries. Covid-19 vaccines are also contraindicated in some people with serious health conditions and allergies.11 People facing vaccination access problems will be unable to obtain vaccine passports. Pregnant women are at an increased risk of severe covid-19 illness12; however, as clinical trials did not include pregnant women, the uncertain risk of vaccination during pregnancy may also lead to understandable hesitancy in this group. Ethnic minorities are also more likely to be vaccine hesitant.13

With most vaccine doses delivered in high income countries, WHO warned that the world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure.14 Because of vaccine nationalism and insufficient efforts to support globally coordinated access to covid-19 vaccines, nearly 25% of the world’s population may not have access to a vaccine until at least 2022.15 This will widen the global north-south divide and create a situation where people from high income countries are able to travel, but not those from low income countries.

As vaccine passports would probably be digital and require access to private medical records, there are important questions around internet access, costs of acquiring and maintaining the passports, privacy, and data protection that must be tackled. Many consider adequate internet access a fundamental human right16; as large numbers of people do not have smartphones or stable internet connections, their exclusion breaches their rights to equality, particularly for those in low and middle income countries. Whether it is legal for workplaces, airlines, and entertainment and leisure venues to access vaccination data remains controversial, as this can perpetuate a form of elitism.17 Furthermore, ensuring that patient sensitive data are not used for other purposes is essential.

While the merits of vaccine passports may be undeniable, implementation will require ethical justifications and practical solutions that do not discriminate against the poor, the less technically literate, and people from low and middle income countries. Without mitigation strategies and alternative solutions, the hardships experienced by marginalised and vulnerable groups will be intensified through the perpetuation of discrimination. If they are to be rolled out, the benefits of vaccine passports should not be dispersed unequally, and societies globally must strive to ensure that they are available to all.

 

 

Edited April 2, 2021 by Mike J
Mod - added the referenced article