UK government in talks with IATA, US and Singapore on ‘vaccine passports’

 The UK’s transport secretary Grant Shapps has said that he is talking to his counterparts in the US and Singapore as well as international organisations such as ICAO about establishing an internationally recognised system that would indicate whether people had been vaccinated against Covid and the results of any tests for the virus.

Shapps, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, would not be drawn on whether such a system would amount to the “vaccine passport” that had been much discussed in recent days. 

Today's presenters also revealed that airline body IATA was in discussions with the UK government about the use of its digital health passport and that talks with the UK were more advanced than with any other country.

Shapps’ comments come days after the UK’s vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi said that the government was not looking into the concept because it would be "discriminatory".

Shapps said that the confusion came because the vaccine passport term is also being used when referring to domestic access to services, which he ruled out.

“Sometimes it is used as a casual term, for example, will you need a vaccine passport to go to the pub?” he said.

The transport secretary argued that the international system is just an extension of the existing yellow fever cards that are required by certain countries.

“I imagine there will be countries which will want to know if you have been vaccinated or have had tests,” he said.

Greece and Israel have recently agreed to remove quarantine for travellers between the countries who can prove they have been vaccinated or have had the disease in the past six months.

https://www.businesstravelnewseurope.com/Air-Travel/UK-government-in-talks-with-IATA-US-and-Singapore-on-vaccine-passports-