Up until this month, “vaccine passports” and “health passes” were vague ways to describe a mostly theoretical concept: some kind of official i

Everything You Need to Know About Vaccine Passports, Health Passes, and the Future of COVID-Era Travel

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2021-05-22 17:30:04

Up until this month, “vaccine passports” and “health passes” were vague ways to describe a mostly theoretical concept: some kind of official immunization record that allowed you to navigate the pandemic world without restriction. But as the vaccine rollout continues apace—President Biden’s promised every American adult will be eligible by May 1st—vaccine passports and health passes have become very real, indeed.

Versions of them exist everywhere. There’s the Green Pass in Israel, which grants Israeli nationals access to spaces like gyms, restaurants, and public pools that were once banned during the pandemic. The European Union, meanwhile, proposed a “Digital Green Certificate” that would allow E.U. citizens to travel throughout the bloc unrestricted. In the United States, New York just rolled out their Excelsior Pass with IBM, and Madison Square Garden has already opted into using the technology.

But what actually are they, how do they work, and what forms do they take, especially now that the CDC has updated their travel guidelines? (People who have been vaccinated will no longer need to show a negative COVID test or self-quarantine.) Vogue talked to travel experts, government spokespeople, and even the creators of these passes themselves to find out.