May I see your Vaccine Passport?
Until the coronavirus epidemic is contained, you have to show evidence of vaccinations wherever you go. It includes airports, stores, and events. Now it is time for COVID passports.
You can find traces of similar events or processes if you flip through the history. When visiting yellow fever-prone or affected areas such as Africa and Latin America in the past, travellers brought international certificates of vaccination to display at the port of entry.
Opinion of Prime Minister of Thailand on COVID Passports
Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha directed officials to look into the future use of vaccine passports as soon as the COVID vaccination campaign began at the end of last month. The Thai National Committee on Communicable Diseases accepted a plan for travel permits that indicate the vaccination status of travellers.
Citizens who have received two doses of Sinovac’s vaccine will be the first to receive vaccine certificates. Thus stated Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. They will use them to apply for one-year vaccine passports or yellow cards in print or digital format for 50 baht if they want to travel abroad.
The Tourism Department of Thailand announced a scheme. According to the scheme, vaccinated travellers can avoid quarantine while entering Thailand. The authority plans to implement Vaccine Passports or COVID passports. It will enable foreign tourists or travellers to avoid isolation for two weeks after their arrival in Thailand. The body had tried to implement similar measures earlier. But they failed to attract enough tourism revenue during or post COVID-19 period.
Opinion of Governor of Tourism Authority on COVID Passports
The Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mr Yuthasak Supasorn presented two proposals on January 26, 2021. Passports and all-inclusive packages are the topics of the two proposals respectively. These proposals aimed to attract at least 10 million tourists in 2021. According to the authorities, after the announcement of the complete lockdown, the tourism revenue fell by around 63% in 2020.
Yuthasak said they want to get it back up to THB1.2 trillion this year. He plans to do so through a detailed collection of plans called the Phoenix Project. Domestic travel accounts for the lion’s share in the project.
However, international travel will continue to be essential. Last year, 41% of the THB 812.7 billion in revenue came from overseas travel. Whereas, 59 per cent came from domestic travel. The authority expects foreign travel to account for 49% of revenue this year, bringing in THB1.2 trillion in total. The recovery will then be on track to cross THB 2.5 trillion by 2022.
Yuthasak said that long-haul travellers could begin arriving in April. He also expects tourists from closer homes will arrive later because their governments continue to discourage unnecessary travel.
Yuthasak stated that talks with industry partners such as Emirates and Qatar airlines are in the proceeding. He also stated that other tour operators should offer various all-inclusive packages. Though he didn’t specify, such packages could include health insurance and vaccination certificates in addition to the regular travel and lodging.
What Thailand Plans for COVID Passports?
Thailand will lobby for other ASEAN countries to follow the same scheme, making it easier to fly inside the bloc without having to pass via quarantine.
Although no international system for verifying disease immunity through recovery or vaccination appears to be in the works, interest has grown as new travel restrictions and inoculations are implemented, particularly in wealthier countries. The current outbreak, according to Yuthasak, could cost Thailand trillions of baht if it lasts the entire first quarter, but he is optimistic that health officials will be able to contain it soon.
On the same day, China announced the launch of its own vaccine passport, allowing people to travel both within and outside the country. The passport is being issued to facilitate economic recovery and cross-border travel, but there is no guarantee that other countries’ authorities will recognize it. Similar permits are being considered in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has advised countries not to use them for international travel due to a number of reasons, including the fact that coronavirus vaccines are not widely available. It had previously given an alert because the effectiveness of vaccination is still uncertain. Life sat down with researchers to discuss the consequences in light of this.
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