Julian Hosp

The View | Blockchain holds the key to a coronavirus vaccine passport the world can trust

There is an urgent need for an accreditation framework that works across different systems and jurisdictions. Borderless and interoperable by design, blockchain can help establish an efficient, automated system to reconcile user data against local measures

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Why you can trust SCMP

A woman shows her health pass as she arrives at a restaurant in Mont-Saint-Michel, in Normandy, northwestern France, on July 22. French cinemas, museums and sports venues have begun asking visitors to furnish proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative test as the country rolled out a vaccine passport system. Photo: AFP

Julian Hosp

Published: 10:00pm, 5 Aug 2021Updated: 2:55am, 6 Aug 2021

The idea of a vaccine passport was the reason I first got into the blockchain space back in 2014. However, that was before Covid-19 and my initial vision of how a vaccine passport could utilise blockchain technology was a mere pipe dream at a time when there was no need for it.

That said, in recent months countries around the world have been forced to grapple with the challenges of a return to some semblance of normality.

From negotiations between governments and pharmaceutical companies for vaccine contracts to a gradual loosening of border restrictions, success has varied from country to country, owing to disparate public health and pandemic mitigation strategies.

More than 4 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide. Even so, inequalities in vaccine distribution raise the question as to whether we stand a chance at truly returning to the way things were before.

Some governments have opted to implement novel technologies such as blockchain to support their contact tracing and keeping immunisation records. Amid a growing market of fake vaccine certificates – some going for as little as €100 (US$120) – technologies that can help to restore trust in a time of politicisation of vaccination regimens and digital disinformation could be the key to a post-pandemic reality.