As vaccine campaigns continue across the world, many are divided over the idea of 'vacccine passports.' Some say the passports will help revive the travel economy, whereas others say it is a violation of personal freedom. 

The idea of requiring vaccination for entry into some countries or some places is not limited to COVID-19 vaccines. 

Many countries require a yellow fever vaccine to enter their territories either for all expatriates, as is the case in French Guiana, or for those from Africa and South America where this disease is prevalent. 

Vaccination centers issue certificates officially called "an international certificate for vaccination and preventive medicine," which is a yellow notebook recognized by the World Health Organization.

Antoine Flau, professor of epidemiology at the University of Geneva, said a short time ago, "Member states of the World Health Organization may take a decision to include the vaccine against the emerging coronavirus in the international vaccination book. (...) This tool is present."

Some also compare a COVID-19 passport with mandatory vaccines in some countries for children to enter schools. 

Frederick Adni, professor of emergency medicine at the Sorbonne University in Paris, says that the vaccination passport "already exists and is called the health notebook. There are 11 compulsory vaccinations in France that allow lessons to be taken at school."

In other countries, such as Switzerland, vaccination data is recorded in an electronic record that constitutes a certificate of vaccination.

- "Return to social life" -

The chairman of the Australian airline, Qantas, was the first to speak in November about the need for international travelers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to get on the plane.

Companies or government officials have made similar statements since, stressing that this certificate allows avoiding quarantine procedures when entering a country.

Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways will soon test a travel permit established by the International Air Transport Association known as IATA Travel Pass, an application that allows passengers to "verify before their travel that their test or vaccination meets the conditions of the country they are flying to."

Supporters of the vaccine passport, who are many in the tourism and entertainment sectors, see it as a way to "return to life before" Covid -19, as it allows safe entry to theaters, restaurants and football fields.

Among the few defenders of it in the medical community, Prof. Adni, who considers that it is a testimony that "respects ethical standards in the event that the vaccine is found to be effective" because it "allows a return to more freedom, social life and protection of the elderly."

- Orwell -

However, critics of this testimony consider this document a violation of individual freedoms.

The director general of Paris-Augustin de Romane airports believes that "adopting a system that prevents a person from entering [a country] under the pretext that he has not received the vaccine" imposes an atmosphere similar to George Orwell's books, although he supports "measures that limit the paralysis of the economy as much as possible."

A bill that was to prevent access to some places in the event that the vaccine was not obtained has sparked widespread controversy in France, which appears to show that accepting such a procedure poses a problem.

The results of several opinion polls indicate that the majority of the population supports this in order to take a plane or for visits to hospitals or a nursing home. But opinions are divided on matters of daily life, such as shared transportation, schools, cinemas, or workplaces.

Some also warn of the risk of the emergence of a black market, as is the case with negative PCR test certificates.

- 'Great uncertainty' -

The reservation includes, in particular, the difference between the promise provided in this document to move without the risk of spreading the pandemic and the actual protection provided by the vaccine.

Vaccines given since December effectively prevent COVID-19, but additional studies should be conducted to see if they allow avoiding infection with the virus and transmitting its infection to others.

Also, there is no information yet available about the duration of immunity these vaccines provide.

Because of "this great uncertainty," experts in the WHO's emergency committee expressed in mid-January their opposition "at the moment" to requiring a person to be vaccinated to enter a country.

These doubts are strengthened with the emergence of coronavirus mutants, for which the current vaccines may be less effective.

While the available doses of vaccines remain few in the world, the imposition of a vaccination certificate will be a discriminatory factor for all those who do not have access to the vaccine.

"There will be inequality unless vaccines are available to all groups of people," said French immunologist Alain Fischer, advisor to the French government on the vaccination strategy.

So far, 135.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been given in at least 90 countries and territories, two months after the start of the large-scale vaccination campaigns, according to an AFP census, according to official sources.

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Also read: Qantas Airways says vaccine will be required to fly, other airlines struggle to decide