US administration working on a new COVID vaccine passport system

Joe Biden, the 46^th president of the United States, has been working hard to solve the country’s many problems after it was left in shambles by the previous administration. As such, the current president has been reportedly working on plans for managing credentials that would let people prove they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19.

The credentials referred to as the “vaccine passports,” could be displayed on free smartphone apps or printed. According to reports, many companies which allow their employees to attend offices will now ask for proof of vaccination before letting people attend concerts or travel.

However, analysts suggest that organizing a unified system for these types of credentials will be hugely complicated. There is a high chance of many problems arising, such as the inconsistent array of options would be confusing and could hurt public health efforts.

“A chaotic and ineffective vaccine credential approach could hamper our pandemic response by undercutting health safety measures, slowing economic recovery, and undermining public trust and confidence.”

According to recent sources, for a secure and protected credential approach, at least 17 groups have been reported working on their credential versions, including a tech company coalition called the Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI), the World Health Organization, and the International Air Transport Association.

IBM has already developed a digital pass that is currently being used in the state of New York. It can show vaccination status or COVID-19 test results, and venues like Madison Square Garden already announced that they’ll use it as part of admission.

However, the federal officials and groups working with vaccine credentials have been finding it tiresome to face various technical, ethical, and equity issues.

One of the major reasons why the federal officials think that the new credential system will be a very risky procedure is because vaccines aren’t easily available to everyone, and right now, they’re more accessible in white and wealthy communities.

Suppose a secure credential program is to be implemented that it needs to have robust privacy protection and be resistant to hacks or forgery. People are already forging paper vaccination cards distributed at vaccination sites. It won’t take much time for any engineer to break into a poorly developed digital credential system.

Source