{"id":228845,"date":"2021-04-16T21:00:36","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T18:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/vaccine-passports-could-facilitate-a-return-to-normal-says-new-report\/"},"modified":"2021-04-16T21:00:36","modified_gmt":"2021-04-16T18:00:36","slug":"vaccine-passports-could-facilitate-a-return-to-normal-says-new-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/vaccine-passports-could-facilitate-a-return-to-normal-says-new-report\/","title":{"rendered":"#Vaccine passports could facilitate a return to normal, says new report"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Vaccine passports could facilitate a return to normal, says new report<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n Canada’s chief science<\/a> advisor doesn’t recommend a specific app<\/a>roach, but warns that if governments don’t act soon the private sector may steam ahead\n <\/div>\n
\n As other countries test out digital vaccination certificates and the international community scrambles to figure out post-pandemic travel<\/a>, Canada\u2019s chief science advisor has made public her first report<\/a> on what COVID-19 \u201cvaccine passports\u201d could look like.<\/p>\n

Dr. Mona Mener falls short of recommending a specific approach for using proof-of-vaccination certificates, but her report acknowledges that other countries are already much farther down the road, and suggests that \u201call levels of government\u201d come up with a framework that would iron out the Canadian answers to several key questions that surround their use, both internationally and domestically.<\/p>\n

Although Nemer\u2019s capacity is to advise and not to act, experts who have clamoured for evidence that the feds are taking this seriously may be heartened by her analysis of scientific and ethical considerations, and her veiled warning that the private sector may steam ahead if governments don\u2019t act soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a rapidly advancing area and governments can play a role to develop effective policies and frameworks to protect the interests of all citizens before private companies implement ad hoc mandates for proof of vaccination,\u201d the report reads.<\/p>\n

It sets out that a framework would define who is considered fully \u201cvaccinated,\u201d taking into account Canada\u2019s extended dosing intervals; provide \u201cguidance\u201d on data standardization, in line with international standards where possible; minimize \u201cfraud, inappropriate use and potential negative impacts on vulnerable populations\u201d; and maximize monitoring, research and epidemiologic data sharing, \u201call of which provide the essential scientific basis for the utility of vaccination certificates within and outside the healthcare context.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nemer report doesn\u2019t get any more detailed than that when it comes to implementing a system. But the devil really will be in the details. For one thing, good luck getting \u201call levels of government\u201d to agree on anything in a timely manner, let alone what could constitute \u201cpotential negative impacts.\u201d For another, good luck consolidating siloized Canadian health data with any level of coherent standardization.<\/p>\n

The document tentatively suggests some benefits to a vaccine certificate system. \u201cThere could be interest in using vaccination certificates to permit safe travel between provinces, eliminate the need to quarantine, and protect remote and vulnerable communities,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n

For international travel, Canada will \u201cundoubtedly need to coordinate with international organizations and partners,\u201d the report states, coming close to admitting there is some inevitability to coming up with a system. International use would \u201cfacilitate travel to countries that demand proof of vaccination\u201d and could undo some of the onerous requirements that are currently in place. \u201cCurrent costs of travel related to testing and quarantine are significant. If vaccination certificates increase safety and ease some costs, this could be a significant benefit for Canadians, many of whom have been unable to visit their families within and outside Canada for some time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report offers no opinion on domestic use other than stating that many people would like to \u201creturn to normal.\u201d It simply states that vaccine certificates \u201ccould\u201d be used for larger gatherings such as sporting events and festivals; and for a return to work, especially in higher-risk workplaces.<\/p>\n

Nemer, whose work was informed by several meetings of an expert panel, does not box herself into any corners. There are myriad caveats to all of her assertions. And though the report offers a good lay of the land on scientific, ethical and legal issues, it offers few solutions.<\/p>\n

On the scientific front, current evidence suggests that people who are fully vaccinated do have a decreased risk of spreading the disease, the report states. But several unknowns still complicate our understanding of the efficacy of vaccination passports. We need to better understand whether vaccinated people can transmit COVID-19, how long their immunity lasts and how protected they are from emerging variants.<\/p>\n

On the ethical front, Nemer warns of a \u201chaves\u201d and \u201chave nots\u201d dynamic that could lead to \u201ctensions among communities.\u201d She warns that Indigenous, racialized and disadvantaged communities \u201cmay lack trust in established medical institutions and\/or their governments due to historical harms,\u201d and that a proof-of-vaccination system could exacerbate these. There is no specific mention of anti-vaxxers or vaccine hesitators, but the report offers that \u201cwhile the anticipation of more freedom may be an incentive for some to get vaccinated, vaccine acceptance could decrease in others if there was a sense of coercion tied to using vaccination certificates.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report also notes that jurisdictional, privacy and authenticity issues could muddy the waters on a national system, and that any system will need to provide for alternatives, like negative tests, for those who are ineligible or unable to be vaccinated.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to fault Nemer for hedging on how exactly to address all of these complexities. The report promised \u201cscientific knowledge and considerations,\u201d and it delivered. It\u2019s now up to federal and provincial politicians\u2014many of whom have not signalled detailed positions on the very concept of \u201cvaccine passports\u201d\u2014to work together on the thorny issues Nemer has raised, and the national framework she loosely proposes. It\u2019s up to them to do that soon, before they\u2019re overtaken by a private sector eager to act. That\u2019s if they manage to get to the table, at a time when they are focused on an uneven vaccine rollout and a massive third wave of cases. Big if.
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