VACCINE PASSPORTS appear to be the future, at least for the time being anyway.
Ever since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world has been furrowing its brow trying to work out a way to allow for international travel without the virus spreading like wildfire.
Once a vaccine was found, and began being administered throughout the world, we finally had an answer. The idea of a form of ID to prove you'd received the vaccine was thrown about as early as last summer, months before an effective inoculation was even developed.
Now it appears, despite objection from some corners of society, vaccine passports look set to be introduced. But when will they required in Ireland, and how will the system work exactly?
Here's everything we know:
Covid-19 vaccine passportWhat is a vaccine passport?
A vaccine passport is essentially a document to be used by passengers travelling through airports which proves that they have received the Covid-19 vaccine.
When will vaccine passports be introduced in Ireland?
The European Commission is to propose legislation for an EU-wide digital vaccine passport later this month.
It's understood that it could be operational around three months after receiving approval, though no timeline has been established yet.
President Ursula von der Leyen in a speech to lawmakers from across the bloc. She said: “As for the question of what the digital green passport could look like: we will submit a legislative proposal in March”.
How will it work?
One idea is that the information will be automatically linked to your actual passport. Others have suggested it be an entirely different document altogether. Either way, you won't have to do anything other than remember to bring it along with you when you travel.
The Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, previously confirmed Ireland was developing a vaccine passport that would allow those who have received the jab to travel abroad this summer.
He told the Dáil, the system would see passengers given a document with a QR code on it, which will prove they've been vaccinated against coronavirus and allow them to travel freely without having to quarantine or self-isolate.
"I see the advantage in people being able to prove they've had the vaccine and/or that they've tested negative," Varadkar said.
"I know that we have an immunisation document ready that people will get with a QR code on it to show that they have been immunised.
