A report by the University of Exeter has warned that digital health passports should not be introduced on a mass basis until coronavirus tests are available and affordable to everyone in the UK.
The report adds that the same considerations apply to vaccines once these are approved and ready for widespread use.
Digital health passports, sometimes also referred to as ‘immunity passports’, are digital credentials that, combined with identity verification, allow individuals to prove their health status (such as the results of Covid-19 tests, and eventually, digital vaccination records).
They are part of a new Covid-19 pre-flight checking regime that is looking likely to be introduced in airports worldwide, meaning that passengers will need to prove they are free from the coronavirus before onboarding planes or entering other countries.
The research by the University of Exeter Law School’s Dr Ana Beduschi. It warns that deployment of digital health passports may interfere with several fundamental rights, including the right to privacy, the freedoms of movement and peaceful assembly.
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It also warns that the use of digital health passports may have an impact on equality and non-discrimination. If some people cannot access or afford COVID-19 tests and vaccines, they will not be able to prove their health status, thus having their freedoms de facto restricted.
Dr Beduschi said these ‘passports’ can “build on sensitive personal health information to create a new distinction between individuals based on their health status, which can then be used to determine the degree of freedoms and rights individuals may enjoy.”
She added: “Given that digital health passports contain sensitive personal information, domestic laws and policies should carefully consider the conditions of collection, storage and uses of the data by private sector providers.
“It is also crucial that the communities that have already been badly impacted by the pandemic have swift access to affordable tests and, eventually, vaccines. Otherwise, deploying digital health passports could further deepen the existing inequalities in society.”
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Multiple initiatives to develop and deploy digital health passports are currently underway in the UK and abroad, to facilitate the return to work, travel, and live-audience large sports events, including the return of fans to stadiums for the English Premier League.
Australian airline Qantas announced that international air travellers will in future need to prove they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to board their flights, with the company’s boss Alan Joyce adding the move would be “a necessity”.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and Estonia have recently agreed to develop a digital vaccination certificate that could be used for Covid-19 once a vaccine is available.
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Rapid antigen tests for Covid-19 are increasingly offered by private sector providers and results are often managed through digital platforms. Vaccine trials have shown promising early results, raising hopes for vaccine availability and widespread vaccination by next year.
The University of Exeter stated that the aim of their report is to “inform decision-makers at an early stage, before large-scale deployment of digital health passports, about the risks they pose to the protection of these rights, and to recommend effective strategies for potential risk mitigation.”
The research analysed the existing legal framework, including UK laws, judicial decisions and international human rights law.
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