Vaccine passports?

With a number of countries already achieving high rates of vaccination, especially the rich and developed ones, the topic of vaccine passports has become more frequent in public discourse. With the Philippine government’s vaccination program having gotten underway, the issuance and use of such vaccine passports or certification will certainly be part of conversations and policy discussions hereabouts.

Just recently, the DOH objected to alleged plans by the DTI and the business sector to use “vaccine passes” for vaccinated individuals that would facilitate indoor access. The health department said there is no sufficient evidence that vaccinated people won’t get sick or infect other people. In response, the DTI clarified that it had no such plans and was only studying proposals from the business sector.

It is not surprising that any discussion of the use of some form of vaccine passport is likely to generate debate. Vaccine passports are seen as a tool to hasten a return to normalcy, a safety measure that will facilitate opening up of sectors of the economy further, which in turn will hasten recovery. On the other hand, using a vaccine passport to determine who gets access to certain areas and activities poses the danger of creating new inequities and disparities in society, particularly among disadvantaged sectors of the population. These discussions are best characterized as an argument between public health on one hand, and private interests and individual rights on the other.

Some countries have already implemented some kind of vaccine passport, and other countries are bound to follow. In the Philippines, both the House of Representatives and the Senate have pending bills for a vaccine passport: Rep. Ronnie Ong of the Ang Probinsyano party list filed House Bill No. 8280, while Sen. Grace Poe filed Senate Bill No. 1994 at the Senate.

During a Senate hearing on Feb. 17, Sen. Koko Pimentel pointed out that issuing a vaccine passport would compel or pressure people to get vaccinated, potentially discriminating against those who are excluded from inoculation due to certain medical conditions and those who choose to opt out from the program, as the passport will restrict their mobility and access to certain places and activities where such a certification will be required. Sen. Sonny Angara countered that “nothing in the measure legally compels people to get vaccinated,” and that it is just a way of “incentivizing” them to do so. Sen. Pia Cayetano also defended the measure by citing the need to ensure public health.

Both sides of the argument have strong, valid points. However, regardless of the back and forth, some form of document or certification is indeed being issued by authorities as proof of vaccination and as part of the post-vaccination monitoring requirement, since vaccines are still under emergency use authorization. So the main issue here is the scope of application of the vaccine passport and its impact on the dynamic of ensuring public health interests vis-à-vis upholding the private rights of individuals, to protect them from the discrimination and inequities this might create.

Given the low rate of vaccination so far, it would be premature for now to mandate the use of vaccine passports or certifications to facilitate local access to certain activities, as that would only disadvantage a great number of people. Efforts should be better focused on getting the majority of the population vaccinated as soon as possible. By the time herd immunity is achieved, the use of vaccine passports may not be necessary anymore.

Overseas travel is another matter, however. There are indications that countries are considering the use of vaccine passports as a requirement for overseas travel. That would be a challenge, as the dynamics of such a policy would not be under the control or influence of our government and regulatory bodies. If that situation arises, the Philippine government must do all it can to protect the interests of its citizens and ensure that Filipinos will have the means and opportunity to comply with requirements for unhampered travel and work overseas.

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Moira G. Gallaga served three Philippine presidents as presidential protocol officer.