Vaccine passports can go a long way towards reopening borders

WITH the increasing yet uneven rollout of Covid-19 vaccination programmes worldwide, vaccine passports could help enable further reopening of international borders - not least for Singapore, which is keen to revive the battered travel industry and relieve residents' cabin fever, but is committed to doing so safely.

While there are many debates over the logistics and ethics of such a system, however, the greatest concerns might well turn out to be medical-related.

Two types of vaccine passports have been making the headlines of late: those that give vaccinated people access to more activities, such as Israel's "green pass" which allows holders to visit places such as gyms, hotels, and theatres; and those that can be recognised for international travel.