Vaccine Passports
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Vaccine Passports
Anticipating threads about the various Vaccine Passports now starting up, I invite all comments (within reason!!) however, I expect that we shall not get much firm news for a while. If I see other detailed comments about these passports in other threads, I might move them in here as that will make it easier for people to search.
Currently, I have read about three:
IATA Travel Pass instigated by IATA to try and gain uniformity for carriers. IATA Travel Pass
The EU to propose a ‘Digital Pass’ for COVID-19 vaccination/test status to help safer travel. The European Commission has said it will present a legislative plan later this month for what it’s calling a “digital green pass” — aka a digital certificate — which it says will be aimed at facilitating cross-border travel in the age of coronavirus.
President Ursula von der Leyen said today that the planned digital tool will aim to provide proof that a person has been vaccinated — but not just that; the “digital green pass” will also display the results of tests, i.e. for those who have been unable to get a vaccine yet, along with information on “COVID-19 recovery”.
This article is from: Tech Crunch
Israel is launching it's own 'Green Pass' but I have not seen any detail on it.
Currently, I have read about three:
IATA Travel Pass instigated by IATA to try and gain uniformity for carriers. IATA Travel Pass
The EU to propose a ‘Digital Pass’ for COVID-19 vaccination/test status to help safer travel. The European Commission has said it will present a legislative plan later this month for what it’s calling a “digital green pass” — aka a digital certificate — which it says will be aimed at facilitating cross-border travel in the age of coronavirus.
President Ursula von der Leyen said today that the planned digital tool will aim to provide proof that a person has been vaccinated — but not just that; the “digital green pass” will also display the results of tests, i.e. for those who have been unable to get a vaccine yet, along with information on “COVID-19 recovery”.
This article is from: Tech Crunch
Israel is launching it's own 'Green Pass' but I have not seen any detail on it.
What everyone wants a single pass - IATA looks the best bet -
As I don't and will not, do mobiles as many others of the same ilk, there has to be another solution. I spent 42 years in The Netherlands and had a yellow Vaccination Book (Inentingsbewijs) where all my jabs were recorded... Cholera, Yellow Fever... etc. I kept it in my travel bag and still do. All this talk of invasion of privacy in the UK is rubbish. It's the perfect solution and where is there an invasion? My solution would be an NHS card with all this on it... proof that one has paid one's dues and is entitled to free health care in the UK. It's no invasion of privacy and would be very useful and would save the NHS millions. However 'they' would make so complicated the Health Care budget would have to rise accordingly and even then it wouldn't work! Back to square one.
Paxing All Over The World
The key to any scheme is to prevent fraud. I, too, remember the yellow fever certificates but, now, they could be turned out at home in minutes. Whilst I could imagine a system with a credit card sized chip card, using a pin - a mobile phone based system will be inordinately faster to get going.
Given the speed of the rollout who is going to pay for a dodgy "virus passport" in say 8 weeks time? Much cheaper and easier to have the jab.............
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As I don't and will not, do mobiles as many others of the same ilk, there has to be another solution. I spent 42 years in The Netherlands and had a yellow Vaccination Book (Inentingsbewijs) where all my jabs were recorded... Cholera, Yellow Fever... etc. I kept it in my travel bag and still do. All this talk of invasion of privacy in the UK is rubbish. It's the perfect solution and where is there an invasion? My solution would be an NHS card with all this on it... proof that one has paid one's dues and is entitled to free health care in the UK. It's no invasion of privacy and would be very useful and would save the NHS millions. However 'they' would make so complicated the Health Care budget would have to rise accordingly and even then it wouldn't work! Back to square one.
if a digital system is the only way that people will be allowed to travel that will prevent a significant number of mainly elderly people doing so.
I know elderly people who don't participate in the digital age and in all honesty some would not be able to learn how to. They manage to travel through the good offices of relatives or friends who book flights/holidays for them online and print out boarding passes.
There seems to be a perception in our society that everyone has access to the internet which is not the case at all.
What happens if you turn up at an airport and find your smartphone has malfunctioned?
Solutions for those without smartphones will happen... but they will just take longer to become widely available and be more of a hassle for the person concerned
Ultimately, do your parents want to go to a beach in the Med in July 2021, or are they happy to wait until maybe November 2021 instead ?
Ultimately, do your parents want to go to a beach in the Med in July 2021, or are they happy to wait until maybe November 2021 instead ?
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 13th Mar 2021 at 14:38.
Paxing All Over The World
In the UK, successive govts have used modern technology to save money. All well and good but they phase out the old systems too quickly and leave seniors reliant on family or others to help. If they phased a system out over, say 20 years, that would be better for the populace but they want to claim the savings NOW to boost their credentials. The same will happen here.
"If they phased a system out over, say 20 years," - PAX - the time value of money and the march of technology means that is pointless
What has been amazing during lockdown is how the very elderly have adapted so fast to zoom , on line ordering etc. If its a choice between sitting at home or learning something new so they can go to the pub or Spain I know what they'll do
What has been amazing during lockdown is how the very elderly have adapted so fast to zoom , on line ordering etc. If its a choice between sitting at home or learning something new so they can go to the pub or Spain I know what they'll do
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If someone, elderly or not, has to purchase a smartphone and package that they don't want merely to go abroad once a year it would be an expensive hobby.
If I had to get one I can't think what else I'd use the smatrtphone for. I've had 'old-fashioned' pay as you go phones for 20 years and have rarely used them 'in anger'. Mine is hardly ever switched on even when I take it out for the reasons I mentioned in my previous post. I have to leave myself notes to remind me to use it every 90 days or the credit will be wiped. I forgot once and lost about twenty quid.
It might suprise some that there really are people who have no wish to be in constant phone or internet contact all day long. I accept it's different if someone's employment makes it necessary and if others want to for their own reasons obviously I can have no grouse about that because that's their business and nothing to do with me. I would be irked though if i'm forced to buy a smartphone in order to be able to travel abroad.
Desktop computers have suited me for nearly a quarter of a century and I've never felt the need to go online in any other way.
Does anyone have experience or knowledge of a digitally-stored boarding pass becoming inaccessible at check-in because of a malfunction with the smartphone or other technical matter such as a battery issue? My wife and I regularly visited Australia for VFR pre-pandemic and will hope to be able to do so again at some point in the future but I'd have a dread of a digital vaccine passport being 'locked' in my smartphone.
If I had to get one I can't think what else I'd use the smatrtphone for. I've had 'old-fashioned' pay as you go phones for 20 years and have rarely used them 'in anger'. Mine is hardly ever switched on even when I take it out for the reasons I mentioned in my previous post. I have to leave myself notes to remind me to use it every 90 days or the credit will be wiped. I forgot once and lost about twenty quid.
It might suprise some that there really are people who have no wish to be in constant phone or internet contact all day long. I accept it's different if someone's employment makes it necessary and if others want to for their own reasons obviously I can have no grouse about that because that's their business and nothing to do with me. I would be irked though if i'm forced to buy a smartphone in order to be able to travel abroad.
Desktop computers have suited me for nearly a quarter of a century and I've never felt the need to go online in any other way.
Does anyone have experience or knowledge of a digitally-stored boarding pass becoming inaccessible at check-in because of a malfunction with the smartphone or other technical matter such as a battery issue? My wife and I regularly visited Australia for VFR pre-pandemic and will hope to be able to do so again at some point in the future but I'd have a dread of a digital vaccine passport being 'locked' in my smartphone.
Merchant - you can buy a brand new (albeit, basic) smartphone nowadays for under £50. Buying one to cover yourself for a vaccine passport need not be particularly expensive. By way of comparison, Trailfinders in west London charge £75 for a yellow fever vaccination (single dose)
Perhaps time to give a smartphone a go and see how you get on with it ? Talk to a friend who can show you the basics, and take your time finding your way around how to use it - maybe also get a friend to download a few apps on it that match your interests. You might find that they're more useful than you think.
Regarding battery issues, most smartphones will last a few hours with constant use (i.e. surfing the Internet on it) or a couple of days if used very lightly. If you carry a charger with you, it's usually possible to find a spare socket at an airport. Some airlines have sockets for phones at each seat as well. As long as you charge your phone fully before leaving home, you are unlikely to have any difficulty with the phone being unable to retrieve a boarding card / vaccine passport. I imagine that on a really long haul flight, you could maybe charge the phone at your seat mid-flight, or if desperate, find a socket at the arrival airport before immigration.
That said, I have downloaded a boarding card to my phone and found the battery ran out of charge before I could board the plane - I've found that if asked nicely, checkin desk staff (even for Ryanair) are always willing to reprint a boarding card for you for free once they see on their system that you've already checked in online
Perhaps time to give a smartphone a go and see how you get on with it ? Talk to a friend who can show you the basics, and take your time finding your way around how to use it - maybe also get a friend to download a few apps on it that match your interests. You might find that they're more useful than you think.
Regarding battery issues, most smartphones will last a few hours with constant use (i.e. surfing the Internet on it) or a couple of days if used very lightly. If you carry a charger with you, it's usually possible to find a spare socket at an airport. Some airlines have sockets for phones at each seat as well. As long as you charge your phone fully before leaving home, you are unlikely to have any difficulty with the phone being unable to retrieve a boarding card / vaccine passport. I imagine that on a really long haul flight, you could maybe charge the phone at your seat mid-flight, or if desperate, find a socket at the arrival airport before immigration.
That said, I have downloaded a boarding card to my phone and found the battery ran out of charge before I could board the plane - I've found that if asked nicely, checkin desk staff (even for Ryanair) are always willing to reprint a boarding card for you for free once they see on their system that you've already checked in online
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 14th Mar 2021 at 00:22.
"It might surprise some that there really are people who have no wish to be in constant phone or internet contact all day long"
I'm one of them - there's nothing to stop you from switching it off - but it IS very useful - especially when things go wrong -
A year or so back we had to completely re-organise a business trip when the Chunnel suddenly closed for 5 hours . Sitting in a cafe outside Gare du Nord we manged the whole thing in 30 minutes - 2 people using smart phones. Trains, car hire, hotels, restaurants and the client (s)
I'm one of them - there's nothing to stop you from switching it off - but it IS very useful - especially when things go wrong -
A year or so back we had to completely re-organise a business trip when the Chunnel suddenly closed for 5 hours . Sitting in a cafe outside Gare du Nord we manged the whole thing in 30 minutes - 2 people using smart phones. Trains, car hire, hotels, restaurants and the client (s)
As well as being relatively inexpensive smartphones don't need to act as a phone. They can also communicate with the web using just wi-fi.
Buy a phone and, on the morning of travel make sure it is charged, connect to home wi-fi (or hotel or coffe shop or even airport if you're away from home) update your app, show it as required and travel.
The phone will cost you more than a basic non-smart but it means you can transfer your payg, keep the same number and even have a tiny bit of data to use if you can't connect to wi-fi. Otherwise you've got a tiny laptop you can use for anything you might use a computer for provided you have a wifi signal.
Buy a phone and, on the morning of travel make sure it is charged, connect to home wi-fi (or hotel or coffe shop or even airport if you're away from home) update your app, show it as required and travel.
The phone will cost you more than a basic non-smart but it means you can transfer your payg, keep the same number and even have a tiny bit of data to use if you can't connect to wi-fi. Otherwise you've got a tiny laptop you can use for anything you might use a computer for provided you have a wifi signal.
Paxing All Over The World
BA announce: Covid-19: British Airways plans app-based travel pass
Looks like IAG are going alone by putting the Vaccine report into their standard APP, rather than with IATA. No comment.
BA Plans Covid App
Looks like IAG are going alone by putting the Vaccine report into their standard APP, rather than with IATA. No comment.
BA Plans Covid App
Last edited by PAXboy; 14th Mar 2021 at 15:07.
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Its good that BA and indeed other carriers are at least thinking about this but as this is a world wide pandemic could we not get an international standard just like the Yellow Fever cert that has been mentioned. It doe not seem to be so difficult to organize, maybe WHO could propose something, but what ever is chosen needs to be rolled out quickly.
Cheers
Mr Mac
Its good that BA and indeed other carriers are at least thinking about this but as this is a world wide pandemic could we not get an international standard just like the Yellow Fever cert that has been mentioned. It doe not seem to be so difficult to organize, maybe WHO could propose something, but what ever is chosen needs to be rolled out quickly.
Cheers
Mr Mac
Paxing All Over The World
I worked in telecommunications for 27 years so have always been up to speed with this since the late 1970s. I now work freelance in another field and 100% of my work arrives via my mobile phone - as voice calls. I have a Smartphone for the usual reasons. However, when I travel and have a boarding pass in the relevant 'app' of the carrier, I still print out the pass and carry the paper. I have printed confirmation of every flight, car and hotel booking in a trip. At the end of the trip, they go in the recycle bin.
I can see that, in the early months, one might have to register vaccinations with your carrier AND another scheme. For those not regularly using modern technology this will be limiting. We might hope that the carriers will realise this early on and establish a 'vaccine check-in desk' to stop at before bag drop. It will be cheaper than senior citizens not travelling.
I can see that, in the early months, one might have to register vaccinations with your carrier AND another scheme. For those not regularly using modern technology this will be limiting. We might hope that the carriers will realise this early on and establish a 'vaccine check-in desk' to stop at before bag drop. It will be cheaper than senior citizens not travelling.
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Twice, in the last month, she has phoned me in a panic because she received calls from “Amazon”, saying they would take £79 from her bank and I have had a heckuva job convincing her that she
a. Does not have an account with Amazon
b. They do not know her bank details
Not being able to travel there (other side of the country) since last October doesn’t help with things like meter reading, central heating programming, fixing small stuff and I am not sure if she can manage much longer without a hug from somebody - she is disabled and cares for my alzheimer sufferer father. Technology is great for most of us but the oldest generation are being totally ignored by “progress”.
What is needed is something like a credit card concept for vaccination. Issued by private companies, controlled by governments and more reliable than your average fake drivers licence from the novelty store. Even without the final vaccination dates the ID-card part of it could be rolled out now and everybody get prepared. Even nicer would be to do it app based only without any plastic and physical card. Could even be hooked to passport or ID cards if somebody needs to have "something physical".