The Travel Pass

We have already speculated, here at "The New World," that in the new world it will be important to be able to prove you've been vaccinated.  The current conventional wisdom seems to agree, but how that will be done is still an open question.

Whatever we end up using to indicate our vaccination status, it won't - and shouldn't - be issued by the government, according to an Axios summary article on the topic (although, oddly, no reason is given). We will get a government-generated card, but it is, apparently, so easy to forge that it will be useless for anything but reminding you what kind of vaccine you got and when your next shot is due.

 Who cares if you've been vaccinated?  "Your employer has a clear interest in knowing whether you've been vaccinated."  So do immigration officials in countries you travel to.  The tourism industry is very interested in "restoring confidence in travel and mobility," and this is not likely to happen if travelers can't prove they've been vaccinated - and therefore aren't dangerous.  Want to go to a concert, or a ballgame, or get past the bouncer at a club?  Show your card.  Overall, "those who get vaccinated deserve more freedom."

There are some objections:

The federal government "should discourage the use of vaccination cards or apps for virtually any purpose other than guiding individual medical care," argued Duke University professor Nita Farahany in the Washington Post.  "Vaccine cards (and immunization apps) could turn into powerful weapons of exclusion and discrimination," she wrote.

Well, yes, they could.  But if they, and the vaccine, are provided to everyone, in a fair and just manner, they could very well be what gets people like my wife and I out of the house.  How about you?

Meanwhile, "the International Air Trasport Association (IATA) is in the final stages of developing a digital COVID-19 vaccine passport for travelers."  It's the IATA Travel Pass, a name that should give Dr. Farahany the chills ("Show us your papers!  Do you have a Travel Pass?  No?  Come with me!").  Actually, "the main priority is to get people traveling again safely."  The Travel Pass includes your COVID testing, as well as your vaccination, status, and "will incorporate four open sourced and interoperable modules which can be combined for an end-to-end solution."

There.  Doesn't that make you feel better?