Sweden Joins Denmark, US In Issuing “Immunity Passports”

In a critical endorsement for so-called “immunity passports,” Sweden plans to join Denmark and the United States by this summer in requiring that travelers, especially international travelers, to carry so-called immunity passports proving they’ve either been vaccinated or recently tested or both, according to Bloomberg. The decision suggests that pretty soon, all of Scandinavia will be using this new big government method of tracking people’s medical records and separating them on to “lists”.

As far as we know, they might soon become so ubiquitous that the industry forgets to scrap the practice once COVID numbers decline.

On Thursday we noted that American Airlines is expanding use of an app that stores proof of whether you have tested negative within days of the flight – a move that which will impact travelers moving to and from a handful of countries in South America, along with a few others. In addition, the airline will now accept mobile health wallet Verifly at all of its airports in the US. Travelers will need to prove ‘immunity’ for both direct and connecting flights from the carrier’s US airports to the UK, Canada, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Jamaica.

Here’s some more information about the “mobile health wallet”, which allows customers to upload their COVID test and/or vaccination results to the app for free use on their phone.

A few weeks ago, Denmark introduced “Immunity Passports” after the government reportedly created an in-house app. Proof of immunity will be issued via the Danish eHealth Portal, with a government issued login, and will be a ‘self-print’ document.

Meanwhile, Sweden will be following Denmark in offering a digital coronavirus passport by the summer to show whether people have had a vaccination, raising questions about whether the rest of Europe will follow.

“It should be easy for the one issuing the certificate, the one using it, and the one controlling it,” said Anders Ygeman, Sweden’s Minster for Digital Development, after the country announced on Thursday that it would begin preparing the digital infrastructure to handle the verification process for who has or hasn’t received vaccinations. Globally, Sweden says it wants to play a bigger role in developing these standards.

Sweden likely won’t be the last country to adopt the “vaccine passport” methodology: British officials have reportedly started work on a “vaccine passport” as Greece prepares to waive quarantine rules for tourists who can prove that they have been inoculated against coronavirus. The Foreign Office, Department for Transport and Department of Health and Social Care are working on plans, according to a report in the Times.