Vaccine Passport for United, will it happen?
 

Hi, does anybody know when the United App will be able to show our vaccine status?

I hadn't heard UA was doing anything to display vaccine status in the app. Source?

The architecture of the "travel ready center" is intended specifically to accommodate it, but I don't think there's any consensus yet on how a vaccine passport will work in practice. For example, how will one verify vaccination status? At the moment it would seem the handwritten CDC card is all you get, but that's easily forged and not independently verifable, as far as we know. Then again, elsewhere, in places requiring yellow fever vaccination, all I need to show is the handwritten "yellow card" for entry. I'm not aware of any official COVID-19 vaccination registry, which leads me to believe testing protocols will remain in place for some time. The vaccine presently seems to just be assurance you won't test positive and be stuck away from home.

The WHO yellow books require a doctor's signature and stamp

Vaccines only prevent you from getting really sick from the virus. You can still be a carrier. Virus particles in your throat and nasal passage are not in contact with your blood so the antibodies from the vaccine cannot destroy them. You can certainly still test positive after full vaccination.

Like I said... easily forged by one so inclined, and not independently verifiable...

I heard on one of the news channels that Qatar Airways or Emirates has it, and that it will be universally adopted by other airlines. I assume if anybody knows, it would be this forum

I think it was QR that now has it and thought it was being trialed between DOH and Turkey.

It's certainly be worked on across multiple fronts: Next Frontier: Digital Passports Proof of Vaccination

I just hope there will be a way to convert the current CDC cards to something that can be used for travel.

Mostly false. There are several different competing proposals, and there's zero immediate likelihood of universal adoption of any of them.

Furthermore, it's not really the airlines who need to agree, although their support is likely crucial as a practical matter. It's going to be the health ministries of various countries that want to open international flights more broadly who are going to need to agree on the format that they want to use.

At the risk of going off-topic, there's definitely no unanimity about requiring proof of vaccination in the first place. There's a very real chance that none of these initiatives ever actually takes off.

This really is not a UA issue. Unless some number of jurisdictions accept a common format (which individual carriers could, of course, adopt), a "passport" is useless.

If and when a given jurisdiction opens to those who have been vaccinated and establishes a standard for proving that, the concept of whether a UA or AA or other carrier app may be useful. For the moment, not worth it.

Ultimately, I am betting that this will come down to a visa-like stamp in a passport. Subject to forgery, of course, but a very serious crime in most countries to do so.

While this is certainly a bit of an outlier scenario, I imagine it is theoretically possible (just like false positives), and why I generally oppose testing requirements for fully-vaccinated adults. I think the scenario you describe only makes one a "carrier" of the virus in a literal sense; most certainly not from a clinical perspective.

"Orphan" vaccine particles lodged in mucous membranes of a fully-vaccinated adult are not a threat to public health, even though they might lead to a positive PCR test.

At the moment there are (at least) two competing electronic 'vaccine passport' solutions - CommonPass and IATA. At the end of the day all this will assist with is expediting entrance into countries that have adopted permissible use of these 'passports'.

In regards to the proof being on a piece of paper and easily copied - the paper you receive when getting vaccinated isn't strong proof due to the easily forged concerns listed earlier in this thread. It's my understanding the CDC is keeping track, but how that info is used is still to be seen due to data privacy concerns (and I'm assuming technical security / architecture). I'm not even sure how they're keeping track in regards to a personal identifier, as I don't recall giving my social security # - just my DL. A lot of info was typed into a laptop when I was vaccinated, but was that a state system that feeds into CDC, stand alone separate, and what info was recorded? I realize the need to make the vaccination process expeditious is paramount, but I don't get strong comfort that either administration has thought far enough ahead to think of future impacts.

Does being vaccinated even make a difference to any entry requirements currently - is anywhere treating vaccinated travelers differently? (And by differently I just mean expedited entry, versus proving a recent negative test). Even if it does, electronic confirmation (i.e. a vaccine 'passport') is likely a future capability due to implementation challenges. Unfortunately given lack of cooperation and competing standards I don't see any widespread adoption of this until late this year at the earliest.

What is annoying currently is the requirement for taking tests prior to travel when already vaccinated.

Most of the vaccine passport solutions I've read rely on your insurance company verifying you've gotten the vaccine - electronically sending that info to a clearinghouse. While the feds pay the vaccine, insurance companies still pay administrative costs.

You don't technically have to present an insurance card to get the vaccine - so if you didn't you'd potentially be out of luck in getting the vaccine passport.

Thailand is currently considering reducing its quarantine requirement to 7 days for vaccinated travelers. It had been reported as a done deal, but now there's apparently some uncertainty.