The U.K. parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sports Subcommittee on Online Harms and Disinformation asked Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham regarding the possibility of using “special passports” that can inform travel authorities of whether somebody has received the coronavirus vaccine. This would allow those who have been inoculated to travel more freely than those who haven’t.
Denham answered that while such a scheme is possible, there are two significant concerns regarding its implementation.
First, Denham warned that creating a vaccine passport would create a “two-tier system” in society. This would grant people who have received the coronavirus vaccine more freedoms than those who have not. As such, a significant portion of society would suddenly be discriminated against due to their reluctance or inability to get vaccinated.
“They touch on human rights,” she said, regarding the passport. “They touch on whether or not we’re going to create a two-tier society based on whether you have a jab in the arm, and the concerns over whether or not this is ‘identity by the back door.'”
Secondly, Denham is concerned with the potential criticisms the vaccine passport would face regarding the necessity of sharing private health data with the government.
“We’re talking about personal health information, which is a special category of data that requires controls,” she said.
Denham concluded that while she believes some good can come from using vaccine passports, it will only work if the British public trusts the government and trusts the system it has put in place to keep health data secure.
“People have to trust the government when they bring in these initiatives to understand what’s the purpose, to narrow it as much as possible and make sure at the end of the day, that their civil liberties, human rights and data protection are respected.”
At least eight British companies have already been awarded government grants to develop a scheme for rolling out vaccination passports. The projects, which are worth a total of £ 450,000 ($617,900), are supposed to allow British citizens to securely carry digital proof of their coronavirus vaccinations. The British government hopes that this scheme can help revitalize an appetite for international travel....<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...