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Visions of a Vaccine Passport

 

Sample Vaccine Passport (Source: GETTY)

As travel restrictions begin to lift across the globe, vaccines become even more crucial in reducing the spread of coronavirus. But what becomes just as important is proof of vaccination. Many countries will be asking travellers for evidence of vaccination, and in the early stages when vaccines have not been offered to everybody; proof of a negative test.
A large number of countries will thus be requiring an official vaccine passport, and in some cases, these are being conceptualised digitally. However, no universal method of certification has yet been decided on, and it is understood that documentation will be different for each country. At a basic level, vaccine passports would not only allow people more freedom, they would also serve to keep vulnerable people safe, and allow them the same freedoms as other members of society. (Brown et al. 2020:61)

For Max Weber, bureaucracy has been recognised as "a dehumanized system of impersonal, rationalized procedures and rules." (Gupta 2006:45) This view has been emphasised within the pandemic, where people have felt isolated, and the words 'unprecedented times' have been heard far too often. These precarious times have resulted in a decreased level of trust in the UK government. Following this, there has been a great deal of resistance to the materialisation of a vaccine passport, with many citizens believing it would be an infringement on their human rights.
Further than bureaucracies being imagined as impersonal, they are also "often seen as dangerous." (Hoag 2011:82) We are living in a time where vaccine passports in the UK, do not yet exist and so we must be aware of the notion that "representations construct their objects." (Hull 2012:254) So, it seems that the imaginings of vaccine passports have become far more prevalent in social discourse than physical vaccine passports themselves. Though these passports are largely going to be put into place because other countries will be requiring them, we see that "documents can acquire symbolic meanings beyond their administrative functions." (Nuijten 2004:211) While a vaccine passport for some people represents safety, freedom and even altruism, for others it symbolises restriction and state control.

Video exploring a potential UK Vaccine Passport (Source: BBC News)

Despite varying opinions in the UK, vaccine passports have already been implemented in Israel, where 5 million citizens have now received vaccinations against COVID-19. These passports allow for different kinds of domestic freedom, and in the future will also be used for international travel. Passport holders will also be exempt from isolating when returning from abroad.

Though there has been an explicit backlash to the notion of a vaccine passport, in the UK, it is important to note that immunity passports do already exist. For many countries, Yellow Fever is still a threat. So, vaccinations and physically, stamped certificates are still required. Before personally visiting Botswana in 2018, I had my vaccinations and was issued a certificate, which was then checked at the border on the way in.

Certificate of Yellow Fever Vaccination (Source: Author's own)

While there is a divide in beliefs regarding both if and why COVID-19 vaccine passports should be brought about, Nuijten expresses that "conspiracy theories, fantasies... obscure what are really much more de-centred practices of power." (Nuijten 2004:228) However, the fact that vaccine passports would only be enforced to keep people safe and allow them more freedoms, does not change the reality of what vaccine passports represent to many people; "bureaucratic corruption." (Hull 2012:258)

Bibliography:

    BBC News (2021) Covid: Thouands sign petition against vaccine passports [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56202975 
    BBC News (2021) UK considers "vaccine passports" to prove Covid protection - BBC News. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfT_t3fhFss
    Brown, R.C., et al. (2020) 'The scientific and ethical feasibility of immunity passports.' The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 58-63
    Fletcher, R. et al. (2020) Trust in UK Government and News Media COVID-19 Information Down, Concerns over Misinformation from Government and Politicians Up - Reuters Institue for the Study of Journalism. [online] Available at: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/trust-uk-government-and-news-media-covid-19-information-down-concerns-over-misinformation
    Hoag, C. (2011) 'Assmbling Partial Perspectives: Thoughts on the Anthropology of Bureaucracy.' PoLAR, 34, 81-94
    Hull, M. S. (2012) 'Documents and Bureaucracy.' Annual review of anthropology, 41, 251-267
    Iamat.org (2020) Botswana: Yellow Fever, IAMAT [online] Available at: https://www.iamat.org/country/botswana/risk/yellow-fever
    Nesta (n.d.) Unprecedeted times [online] Available at: https://www.nesta.org.uk/feature/unprecedented-times/
    NHS Choices (2021) Vaccination - Yellow fever [online] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/yellow-fever/vaccination/
    Nuijten, M. (2004) 'Between fear and fantasy: Governmentality and the working of power in Mexico.' Critique of anthropology 24(2): 209-230
    Passporthealthglobal.com (2021) Yellow Fever Vaccination and Certificates | Passport Health [online] Available at: https://www.passporthealthglobal.com/en-gb/vaccinations/yellow-fever/
    Raz-Chaimovitz, M. (2021) Israel's green passport provides vaccination incentive. [online] Available at: https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-israels-green-passport-provides-vaccination-incentive-1001355771
    Simon, C. (n.d.) What is a Covid vaccine passport and how do you get one? The Independent [online] Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/covid-vaccine-passports-uk-holiday-b1798090.html 
    Staff, T. (2021) 5 million Israelis vaccinated; PM: All adults will be inoculated by next month. [online] timesofisrael.com Available at: https://www.timesofisrael.com/5-million-israelis-vaccinated-pm-all-adults-will-be-inoculated-by-next-month/
    Weber, M. (2009) 'Bureaucracy' in Sharma, A., and Gupta, A. The anthropology of the state: a reader. London: John Wiley & Sons.



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