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Q. Discuss the various ethical concerns associated with vaccine passports for international travel. Also, suggest the measures that can be taken to deal with these concerns.

Approach:

• Give a brief introduction about vaccine passports.
• Then discuss various ethical concerns associated with the vaccine passport for international travel.
• Suggest measures that can be taken globally to deal with these concerns.
• Conclude accordingly.

 Answer:

• Globally, millions of people have now received COVID-19 vaccine, and some countries have already started planning the implementation of vaccine passports.
• The purpose of these passports is to allow people to travel, attend large gatherings, access public venues and return to work without compromising personal safety and public health.
• The idea of a vaccine passport is aimed at incentivizing vaccination and is considered an international public good with benefits that extend to individuals as well as to the general population.

However, there are various ethical concerns associated with vaccine passport for international travel:

• Scarcity and unequal access: Vaccines are still scarce and access remains unequal, both within and between countries. So people facing vaccination access problems will be unable to obtain vaccine passports and may thus face discrimination in various activities.
• Not accommodative of people’s choices and beliefs: Such passports do not accommodate people who refuse vaccines based on medical or religious grounds.
• For instance: pregnant women are at an increased risk of severe Covid-19 illness, but they were not included in the clinical trials and hence forcing them for the vaccine would be morally incorrect. Similarly, ethnic minorities may be vaccine hesitant.
• May entrench existing inequalities: Passport programs implemented for international travel entrench inequities that favour citizens of high and upper-middle income countries where majority of the population has been vaccinated.
• May lead to diversion of vaccines from the most needy: Considering that there is limited availability of vaccines, preferential vaccination of travellers could result in inadequate supplies of vaccines for priority populations considered at high risk of severe Covid-19 disease.
• Privacy concerns: Data security activists point out that the digital certificates can even be used by authorities to track the movement of their holders.

Measures that can be taken globally to deal with these concerns:

• Increased access to vaccines: Governments and organizations across the globe should collaborate and help to mitigate inequalities arising from private certification by boosting the supply and distribution of vaccines and redoubling efforts to reach underserved populations.
• Allow flexibility: Rational and ethical vaccine certification policy is likely to evolve regularly as vaccine availability increases, herd immunity nears and scientific evidence of effectiveness or limitation grows. So, rules must not be rigid for everyone.
• Consideration to poor economies: The introduction of Covid-19 certificates should not lead to unjust travel limitations for those who did not have access to vaccines or who received a vaccine that is not accepted in the countries they wish to travel to.

Measures should be taken to ensure that vaccination-based certificates do not reduce the freedom of movement of people in and out of Low and Middle-Income countries due to the inequitable availability of vaccines.

• Alternative tools: Countries should not rely only on vaccine passports but use other means that are accessible to all such as COVID-19 tests or immunity in order to avoid opening another layer of discrimination against those who have little or no access to vaccines.

While vaccination is important for restoring liberty and freedom of people, it is crucial that Covid- 19 passports leave no one behind, and do not create a privilege for those who have access to vaccines, tests and digital technologies.