Canada is exploring the idea of issuing COVID-19 vaccine passports in coordination with its G7 allies, Health Minister Patty Hajdu said on Monday.
“We are having conversations with the Americans, but also through the G7 and many other international forums, exploring this idea of some form of … evidence of vaccination at international borders,” Hajdu said.
The idea of COVID-19 vaccine passports is being debated in some countries around the world, which are looking at a range of uses beyond international travel, including for citizens to gain entrance to places like bars, gyms, or concert halls.
The European Commission has also proposed a plan to create its own document, called “digital green certificate,” which can be used for travelling between EU countries.
“The G7 partners agreed that there needs to be some consistency and some collaboration among the countries, so we have some kind of system that would be recognizable, no matter where a person was travelling,” Hajdu said.
Hajdu noted that one existing concern about issuing vaccine passports is the lack of scientific proof of whether vaccinated people can still transmit the CCP virus to others.
Some have also raised the question of fairness regarding vaccine passports.
“We are having those conversations about what international travel might look like, and what kinds of criteria would need to go into any kind of vaccination certification process, and how we deal with the equity issues that will likely arise as a result of inequitable access to vaccination globally,” Hajdu said.
She said the G7 countries did not set a specific deadline for discussions on vaccine passports, but said they are committed to continue exploring the option.