Why is everyone losing their shit over this? We _already_ have shot records, and they _already_ have to be provided to school in order to enroll. Some international travel _already_ requires vaccination records.
In the words of the great Star Lord... "everybody chill the F out".
The proposed standards for "Vaccine Passports" is something that can be readily verified by anyone.
Verifying a vaccine record from your doctor requires contacting your doctor and getting them to cooperate in releasing at least some of your medical records to some anonymous, non-medical cold caller. This usually means you, as the owner of your medical information, need to sign a release granting the doctor permission to share it your records with someone else... and you'd need to sign such a document for literally everyone who needs to verify your record, every time.
New York State has just recently rolled out a passport system for entry into event venues: You present your smartphone or printed document with a QR code, the person scans it and gets near instant proof from the state's vaccine registry that you've gotten your shots without violating HIPAA laws, signing releases or having to divulge personal information to random security guards. =Smidge=
What keeps me from photocopying my friends QR code in the NYS system?
The bar code will be scanned, and your driver license identity won't match the bar code. It makes me wonder if they will require a photo soon when applying for the pass.
Not at all. But NYS's system seems prone to a lot of bad decisions. It looks like it can leak people's personal information, etc. My ideal would be a card with a picture and a hologram (or whatever makes it hard to duplicate).
There are big logistical problems with vaccine passports.
There are multiple vaccines. Some provide >90% immunity, some only 75%. We don't know how long any of them last yet, so can't put an expiry date on the passport. There is also a start-up period, in the first few weeks after vaccination it doesn't provide the full level of protection.
We also don't know how infectious the vaccinated are, i.e. if they can infect non-vaccinated people.
There are questions over privacy and fairness too. For example travel insurance companies might require vaccination for cover, but if AZ only gives you 75% protection will they be allowed to ask and use that to charge you a higher premium than someone who got Pfizer?
Or how about if you got a Chinese vaccine and the US doesn't recognize it, or vice-versa? Even between the EU and US there are differences in which vaccines have been approved for use.
None of this is insurmountable but it needs some very careful consideration.
75% immunity is good enough for a passport, particular as the protection against serious cases seems to be better than the protection against any infection.
And in related news (Score:5, Insightful)
Rest of world bans Floridians from traveling there.
Re: (Score:0, Troll)
Papers, pls?
Just another potential totalitarian move from Big Tech and the Democrats.
Re: (Score:5, Insightful)
We _already_ have shot records, and they _already_ have to be provided to school in order to enroll.
Some international travel _already_ requires vaccination records.
In the words of the great Star Lord... "everybody chill the F out".
Re:And in related news (Score:5, Informative)
The proposed standards for "Vaccine Passports" is something that can be readily verified by anyone.
Verifying a vaccine record from your doctor requires contacting your doctor and getting them to cooperate in releasing at least some of your medical records to some anonymous, non-medical cold caller. This usually means you, as the owner of your medical information, need to sign a release granting the doctor permission to share it your records with someone else... and you'd need to sign such a document for literally everyone who needs to verify your record, every time.
New York State has just recently rolled out a passport system for entry into event venues: You present your smartphone or printed document with a QR code, the person scans it and gets near instant proof from the state's vaccine registry that you've gotten your shots without violating HIPAA laws, signing releases or having to divulge personal information to random security guards.
=Smidge=
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My understanding is few people were actually getting the vaccine from their doctor.
What keeps me from photocopying my friends QR code in the NYS system?
Re: (Score:2)
What keeps me from photocopying my friends QR code in the NYS system?
If they do it right, that would be that your friends Name and picture would show up and not yours.
MY question is, what keeps me from printing out a random QR code that points to a website that hast my Name and picture on it?
Re: (Score:2)
What keeps me from photocopying my friends QR code in the NYS system?
The bar code will be scanned, and your driver license identity won't match the bar code. It makes me wonder if they will require a photo soon when applying for the pass.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Then you must also be pro-fraudulent identification.
Re: (Score:2)
Not at all. But NYS's system seems prone to a lot of bad decisions. It looks like it can leak people's personal information, etc. My ideal would be a card with a picture and a hologram (or whatever makes it hard to duplicate).
Re: And in related news (Score:1)
How do you release records to third parties without at least the potential of violating HIPAA?
And how is a QR code going to help? I can just copy the QR code from anyone.
All the restaurant has to do is keep a video recording and there is your identifying information of people with the vaccine.
Re:And in related news (Score:5, Informative)
There are big logistical problems with vaccine passports.
There are multiple vaccines. Some provide >90% immunity, some only 75%. We don't know how long any of them last yet, so can't put an expiry date on the passport. There is also a start-up period, in the first few weeks after vaccination it doesn't provide the full level of protection.
We also don't know how infectious the vaccinated are, i.e. if they can infect non-vaccinated people.
There are questions over privacy and fairness too. For example travel insurance companies might require vaccination for cover, but if AZ only gives you 75% protection will they be allowed to ask and use that to charge you a higher premium than someone who got Pfizer?
Or how about if you got a Chinese vaccine and the US doesn't recognize it, or vice-versa? Even between the EU and US there are differences in which vaccines have been approved for use.
None of this is insurmountable but it needs some very careful consideration.
Re: (Score:2)
75% immunity is good enough for a passport, particular as the protection against serious cases seems to be better than the protection against any infection.
It appears that Pfizer vaccine does make people 90% less infectious compared to no vaccine [bloomberg.com]. Presumably Moderna too.
TLDR: Don't make the perfect the enemy of the good.