Vaccine Passports

What They Are — Or Might Be — And Why They Matter.

This week, Canada’s largest insurance company stated that for persons who are completely vaccinated, out-of-country medical benefits will be increased. There is still no vaccination passport or standardised document in place in Canada to prove who has been vaccinated and who has not.

Many other countries have these in place, according to Martin Firestone of Travel Secure Inc., and “we are lagging dreadfully behind.”

When asked whether they wanted a vaccine passport to travel domestically or internationally, 79% of Canadians said yes.

“At the end of the day, Canadians are quite strong on their support for a vaccine passport, certainly with connection to travel,” said Jason Allsopp, Vice-President of Leger.

The European Union, China, and Israel are already using some form of vaccination documentation. Vaccination passports are not used in the United States; instead, vaccination cards are used to verify that Americans are completely vaccinated.

Manulife has boosted out-of-country medical benefits for anybody who has been completely vaccinated from $1 million to $5 million, according to Firestone, but there is currently no standard vaccination certificate to use as proof.

It’s unclear how a vaccination passport would work in Canada if one is developed. A vaccination certificate, a bar code on your phone, or even a stamp on your ordinary passport might all be examples.

The matter is still very much alive and unresolved. It will be fascinating to see how various governments, including Canada’s and its constituent provinces and territories, resolve this problem.