Europe Debates Its Way to Covid-19 Vaccine Passports

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European leaders are due for a spirited debate this week on a matter of increased urgency for the countries most dependent on tourism—and most ravaged by the yearlong travel bans triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic: Whether or not to establish a “vaccine passport” that would at least allow individuals who have been inoculated against the virus to travel freely and take their holidays in their traditional tourist destinations.

The question that may sound like a no-brainer is likely to divide Europeans, because it raises difficult questions for countries that have struggled to organize proper vaccination campaigns, resulting in a vaccine rollout unfolding at a snail pace.

It has also been raised in the U.S. by President Joe Biden, who asked his administration to “assess the feasibility” of “international certificates of vaccination or prophylaxis” in one of his first executive orders aiming at curbing the pandemic, signed the day after he was inaugurated.

The debate in Europe will likely pit the governments whose economies depend on a return of tourists to recover from the recession against those who argue that a vaccine passport would lead to unwanted discrimination between their own citizens, between those who have been vaccinated and those who haven’t been able to get their shots: For the moment, in most of Europe, vaccination isn’t a simple voluntary act that can be accomplished quickly. It depends on pecking orders, waiting lists, priorities set by governments about who should get it quickly and who can wait a bit longer.

But however spirited their discussions, European leaders may also come to the conclusion that they are just playing catch up with a trend that is likely to spread in the coming weeks: Within the European Union, some governments have already decided to go ahead and provide their citizens with the mooted passport, or pass. Denmark and Sweden have, for example, already taken such steps.

And now outside the EU, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday a coming review of the idea of Covid-19 certificates, and the role they could play in the economic recovery. All the while remaining “mindful of the many concerns surrounding exclusion, discrimination and privacy,” Johnson cautioned.

In some versions of the concept, the so-called passport could also be used to allow the public’s access to mass events, such as sport games or concerts, in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus that causes Covid-19.

Southern governments such as Spain and Greece are eager to see Europe move faster on the question, in time for the next summer season. Greek tourist minister Harry Theoharis told the Financial Times that there was “shortsightedness” on the part of the EU by not moving quicker to take a common decision.

But the French government is opposed to such a passport “for now,” European affairs minister Clément Beaune has said, as long as a significant chunk of the population hasn’t been vaccinated. And Germany’s ethics council, a government advisory body, has expressed strong reservations on the idea.

As it happens, the debate also reflects the unequal success of governments in the region to vaccinate their citizens. According to the latest numbers, after nearly two months of vaccine availability, only slightly more than 6% of Germans have received at least one dose—and 5.5% of the French. But the U.K. has succeeded in inoculating 27% of its citizens, and the U.S., 19%.

It’s easy to see why governments might try to resist the implementation of a vaccine passport that would be hard to explain domestically without throwing a light on their own shortcomings.

But however spirited the debate, vaccine passports are an idea that will be hard to resist much longer. Firstly, because it is up to governments to decide whether to give their own citizens such official proofs of vaccination, and up to them to recognize those issued by other countries. Secondly, because there should come a time when vaccine availability has been wide enough to counter the discrimination argument.