VACCINATION PASSPORTS MUST NOT RESTRICT HUMAN RIGHTS, RUSSIAN FM

Thu 08 April 2021:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed on Thursday that vaccination passports must not limit the right to travel.

“I agree that vaccination passports must not restrict human rights, including the right to travel.

However, exactly this kind of idea was initially discussed in the European Union. The question remains acute. And we need, as my counterpart said, to draft common rules within the Eurasian Economic Union that will not restrict the right to travel.

Vaccine passports should have just one goal to show health condition of the holder,” Lavrov said at a press conference after talks with the Kazakh foreign minister.

What are the arguments favoring a vaccine passport?

Advocates say there are a few reasons. They could:

Bring about a long-awaited return to “normal” life.
Encourage people to get the shot, which would reduce COVID-19 transmission.
Better protect front-line workers in the medical, travel, hospitality and service industries, and everyone else around you.
Allow countries to fully reopen their economies.

The problem, though, is that these reasons aren’t perfectly in line. So, which will be the priority? That’s something we’ll have to decide.

What are the arguments against a vaccine passport?

There are a few critical ones here, as well.

They could result in inequality and discrimination, not just for people in developing countries where the vaccine is less available, but also for young and healthy people in richer countries who may not get their shots for months.
It would also be unfair for communities who are less trustful of vaccines and those who decline the vaccine for religious or cultural reasons.
Privacy advocates are concerned about the security of apps that will hold private and critical information about a user’s health. It would be just another app loaded with personal data that could be vulnerable to hacking or misuse. Many app developers counter that they’re securing the apps through blockchain technology, which means the data wouldn’t be stored in one place.
As the vaccine doesn’t bring total immunity, it could bring a false sense of security and lead to risky behavior and the rise of new COVID-19 variants.
If used for everyday activities, it may lead to coercion of vaccines.