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| The Biden administration looks to regulate the development of a vaccine passport |
According to the Washington Post report, the Biden administration is developing a plan to deal with data that will allow people to prove their vaccination against the Coronavirus.
These are usually called vaccination records and their details can be viewed or printed using a free smartphone app.
Several companies have stated that they need proof of vaccination before they can attend concerts or travel.
At a meeting of the Federal Health Information Technology Coordination Committee, officials said organizing a unified system for this type of data is too complex and risks making inconsistent decisions, which can be confusing and harm to public health.
A document obtained by The Washington Post said that using chaotic and ineffective vaccination methods could undermine health and safety measures, slow economic recovery and undermine public confidence, and thus hamper our response to the pandemic.
At least 17 groups are working on their own version, including the tech consortium called the VCI Immunization Certification Program, the World Health Organization, and the International Air Transport Association.
New York State has started to use a digital access card developed by IBM that can be used to display vaccination status or coronavirus test results. The local government announced that it will use this card for entrance tickets.
As the plan progresses, federal officials and groups involved in this data work will face many fair technical and ethical issues.
When vaccines are not available to everyone, using vaccines as tickets to various events is risky. These days, vaccinations are easier to get in the white and affluent societies.
The certification program should have strong privacy protection and be resistant to hacking or tampering as well as tampering with vaccination cards distributed at the vaccination center.
Officials should also consider how long the vaccine will be protected, and the Biden government announced that it will soon have more information about its handling of vaccine data.
An official told the Washington Post: Nearly 30% of the United States population has received at least one dose of the Coronavirus vaccine, but it is important to continue this project.
This is likely to be poorly designed, misused, or bureaucratic mess, the official added.