A study suggests that coronaviruses passports could lead to increased vaccine use.
In countries with lower-than-average vaccine coverage, the University of Oxford found that Covid-19 certification led to increased jab take-up. People under 30 had the greatest increase in vaccine take up. The modelling analysis was published in a journal.
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What are European countries doing with covid passports?
What are European countries doing with theirpassports?
People who want to attend public venues and events need to have a passport with proof of vaccine, negative test or Covid-19 recovery certificate. It has been suggested that they may encourage more unvaccinated people to get vaccinations, particularly those who think their own risk of death from Covid-19 is low.
Prof Mills, the director of the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science at the University of Oxford and the study's lead author, said: "As mass vaccination programmes continue to play a central role in protecting public health in this pandemic, increasing vaccine take up is crucial both to protect the
The study is the first to assess whether Covid-19 certification can be part of the strategy. We observed a significant increase in anticipation of restrictions coming into place about 20 days before introduction, which lasted up to 40 days after, but the context of existing vaccine hesitancy, levels of trust in authorities, and the trajectory of the epidemic were crucial to the impact.
Many countries have either introduced or are considering introduction of Covid-19 certification, but whether this public health intervention increases vaccine take up is unclear. If you have a recent negative test or have full vaccinations, you will need to get a pass from the National Health Service to enter indoor venues with more than 500 people.
Some survey-based evidence suggests that people would be less likely to get vaccinations if Covid passports were introduced, while some countries have reported increases after the introduction of Covid-19 certification.
In six countries where certification was legally required, the data on Covid certification introduced between April and September this year was linked.
The study used modelling to estimate the amount of vaccine that would have been taken if Covid-19 certification had not been in place.
In countries where vaccine coverage was low, introduction of vaccine passports was associated with an increase in the number of vaccine doses per million people.
There was no significant increase in vaccinations after the introduction of certification in countries with higher average vaccination rates.
The co-author of the study said that it may be that Covid-19 certification is a useful way to encourage vaccine-complacent groups, such as young people.
Covid-19 certification alone is not a silver bullet for improving vaccine take up. Targeted vaccine drives and community dialogue may be used to address vaccine hesitancy due to lack of trust in authorities.
There were limitations to the study. There was no data available to examine vaccine use by different groups. They acknowledged that the causes of vaccine hesitancy are different in different countries, which may limit the generalisability of their findings.
The authors raised several issues with Covid passports that policymakers should consider, including the risk of creating inequalities among communities with lower take-up, the risk of creating digital divides if passports are electronic, and data privacy concerns.
