Oh, the places you’ll see! Maybe.
As vaccines are rolling out around the world, the travel bug is biting at our ankles to get us out of isolation. But the pandemic is changing the way we will henceforth explore the globe. Passports as we know them prove our identities. Now, countries, including Iceland and the U.S., are seriously considering requiring official documentation such as a vaccine passport or certificate to prove that travelers are protected against COVID and other variants, and have tested negative before putting out their welcome mats. I’m all for it and will sleep better -- on the plane, with a mask -- knowing that everyone on board is that much safer.
Israel just started its Green Pass, a digital vaccination passport program. “Anyone with a ‘Green Pass’ can travel within the country and has access to places like gyms, theaters and hotels.”
The U.S. and other countries are considering a digital vaccine passport, too, but because cybersecurity is a major issue, it remains under study.
In our era of COVID, my guess is that it’s only a matter of time that some kind of vaccine passport will be the norm for travelers. So, for those who have been relishing the thought of leaving on a jet plane or cruise ship as soon as the coast is clear, but may be on the fence about getting vaccinated, this just might help you make the decision to do it posthaste.
And when I pulled out my file to take a look at my current passport, I saw my expired passports rubber banded together. Inside each one, date stamps through the decades reminded me of the places I have seen. My mind flooded with lifetime memories. In the future, I will know why the year 2020 will be absent of stamps.
Now, I’m biting at the bit to fill the pages again.
This is your country, and it’s up to you to save it.” – English translation of a saying in Taiwan
Washing Hands + Wearing a Mask + Social Distancing = Saving Lives