Swedish Health Minister Lena Hallengren announced at a recent press conference the government’s intention to provide a “digital vaccination certificate” to residents who receive a COVID-19 vaccine, allowing them to “travel abroad on holiday or to meet a loved one.”
The minister said she is convinced that a “vaccination certificate is probably as desirable as getting vaccinated,” raising speculation that the digital identifier could become necessary for accessing international travel, as well as going about everyday activities such as like shopping and eating out.
Swedes who have received the vaccine are already eligible for a vaccination certificate from the vaccine provider; the digital “passport” will allow those people to have a copy on their phones.
Anders Ygeman, Sweden’s minister for digital development, stated that the government’s “goal is for the work to go as quickly as possible, and that the digital infrastructure will be in place by the summer,” specifically June 1.
“When Sweden and the countries around us start to open up, it will probably be required to have a vaccination certificate to travel and take part in other activities,” he said, making mention of businesses, such as restaurants, establishing a requirement for proof of vaccination before permitting access to individuals
Sweden’s announcement follows that of Denmark, which announced its own plans to establish a “vaccine passport” program to identify those who have been vaccinated, for the sake of travel.
Danish finance minister Morten Bodskov suggested that “in three, four months, a digital corona passport will be ready for use in, for example, business travel,” the Associated Press reported.
The minister remarked that the return of travel is “absolutely crucial” to restoring the country’s economic stability and getting businesses reopened.
To this end, Danish citizens will be able to access a website by the end of this month detailing whether or not they have received a COVID-19 vaccine.
On top of this, the digital “passport,” according to Bodskov, will be “the extra passport that you will be able to have on your mobile phone that documents that you have been vaccinated.”
Lars Sandahl Sørensen, CEO of the Confederation Danish Industry, suggested that “vaccine passports” will be a long-term arrangement, declaring that citizens “will benefit from the corona passport for many years” since they will “allow travel and participation in cultural life in Denmark.”
In the last few weeks, the president of the European Union Commission has thrown her support behind an EU-wide “vaccine passport” scheme.
Speaking to Portuguese media, Ursula von der Leyen said it should be “a medical requirement to have a certificate proving that you have been vaccinated.
The president welcomed the idea that vaccine “passports” might be utilized to control travel between member states of the EU stating,
“Whatever is decided – whether it gives priority or access to certain goods – is a political and legal decision that should be discussed at a European level.”
The World Economic Forum (WEF), whose executive chairman Klaus Schwab famously proposed the Huxleyan “Great Reset,” already started work on vaccine “passports” some months ago.
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