Last update: March 30th, 2021.
“We expect that a determination or development of a vaccine passport, or whatever you want to call it, will be driven by the private sector,” confirmed the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki during an official conference held on March 29th, 2021.
The implementation of a COVID passport in the US could be crucial to boost the economy and restart travel and mobility both within the country and internationally.
In line with this announcement, President Biden tweeted on March 29th that “three weeks from today, 90% of adults will be eligible to get vaccinated — and 90% of Americans will live within 5 miles of a place to get a shot.”
Implementation of a COVID pass in the United States
Although the vaccination pass for the US is still considered an incipient initiative, Psaki assured there are already “a couple of key principles” set to guide the project. “One is that there will be no centralized, universal federal vaccinations database and no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential.”
Another pillar of the US immunity passport, confirmed by Psaki, is “there’s currently an interagency process that is looking at many of the questions around vaccine verification.”
The US officer said a timeline regarding the US health pass deployment is currently under development. However, she stressed the importance the Biden administration is giving to ensuring “all vaccination credential systems meet key standards, whether that’s universal accessibility, affordability, availability — both digitally and on paper.”
Compliance with these principles could mean the US health passport is compatible and interoperable with the European Digital Green Certificate in the near future.
Jen Psaki also made clear the country’s approach to the COVID pass certificate: “We want to encourage an open marketplace with a variety of private sector companies and nonprofit coalitions developing solutions.”
Vaccine cards to access US venues
Currently, it is a standard procedure that once US citizens get vaccinated, health authorities issue vaccine cards that certify the jab was been properly administered.
This document can be key to the development of a vaccine passport system, according to Commissioner Director at Camden County (NJ), Louis Cappelli, Jr. “You will need it to get into places whether it will be an entertainment venue, onto an airplane, perhaps whatever school you go to.”
Cappelli insisted “there might be announcements like that in the near future, therefore you should keep this [vaccination] card close by”, although no official statement has been yet made.
On the other hand, the Pennsylvania Department of Health issued a note stating that “Pennsylvania is looking to the federal government for recommendations on this initiative but is not currently exploring plans to develop a ‘vaccine passport’.”