Microsoft is part of a coalition of technology and health organizations working on the development of a digital COVID-19 vaccination passport that could be used by businesses and countries to enforce mandatory innoculation.
Announced Thursday, the Vaccination Credential Initiative aims to enable people to "demonstrate their health status to safely return to travel, work, school and life while protecting their data privacy," the Financial Times reported.
Oracle and the Mayo Clinic also are part of the coalition, which is working with technology created by The Commons Project in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation.
People who have been vaccinated for the coronavirus currently receive a piece of paper to document their vaccination, Paul Meyer, the chief executive of The Commons Project, told the Financial Times.
The coalition could develop a digital certificate that would be stored on a smartphone in a digital wallet or a physical QR code.
The Times said the coalition expects event planners and universities will require proof of vaccination.
Mike Sicilia, the executive vice president of Oracle's Global Business Units, said in a statement the passport "needs to be as easy as online banking."
Reuters reported Thursday that a firm of London plumbers is considering including in its employment contracts a requirement for workers to have a COVID-19 vaccine, according to its founder.
On Monday, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District announced that every student must be innoculated for the coronavirus before returning to class, once a vaccine is available.
Comparing it to required vaccinations for measles and mumps, Austin Beutner said he hopes all students will be innoculated by January 2022, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggested in August that the vaccine would be mandatory for residents of his country but later backtracked.
In early December, a bill was proposed in the New York State Assembly that would require COVID-19 vaccines for all residents who are able to safely receive it. The move came after the New York State Bar Association recommended the state consider making it mandatory for every resident, except for people exempted by a doctor.
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