Sen. Grace Poe expressed her support for the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act that incorporated the bill she has previously filed that will issue vaccine passports to individuals who have been inoculated against the virus.
“Ang vaccine passport na ibibigay ng libre sa lahat ng mababakunahan ay mainam na paraan upang tuluyang mabuksan muli ang ating ekonomiya, lalo na para sa ating mga lokal na manggagawa at OFW na nais nang magbalik trabaho,” said Poe who co-authored Senate Bill No. 2057.
The vaccine passports will help facilitate both domestic and international travel, ease checkpoint and quarantine exemptions, and access to establishments that previously could not reopen its doors fully to everyone.
Poe explained that the concept of a vaccine passport is not new, where people traveling to certain countries have had to show a yellow card known as an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis as proof that they have been vaccinated against yellow fever, rubella, and cholera.
The concept of the yellow card has recently been applied in a digital format as proof of inoculation against the COVID-19 virus. The International Air Transport Association currently uses a digital travel pass while tech company IBM has come up with a digital health pass that allows individuals who have been vaccinated to gain access to certain public locations.
Poe clarified that the bill also addresses concerns on the accessibility of a digital vaccine passport. Therefore, individuals will be given a printed copy of their vaccine passport at no extra cost.
“The challenge here is to expedite every step of the vaccination program—from procurement to actual vaccination to proof of vaccination via passports,” Poe said.
