A coalition of technology firms and health organizations announced plans Thursday for a digital vaccination certificate, which can be used on smartphones to show evidence of inoculation for Covid-19.

The Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI) includes the Mayo Clinic, Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce.

The companies said they were working on a way to get digital credentials -- which some call a vaccination "passport" -- widely recognized, as a way to help people return to work, school, events, and travel.

The new group said it would develop standards for encrypted digital copies of immunization credentials which can be stored in a digital wallet.

The goal "is to empower individuals with digital access to their vaccination records," said Paul Meyer of The Commons Project Foundation, a nonprofit group working on the deal.

"Open standards and interoperability are at the heart of VCI's efforts and we look forward to supporting the World Health Organization and other global stakeholders in implementing and scaling open global standards for health data interoperability."

The announcement comes amid a global rollout of vaccination, which should continue throughout the year.

The proposal comes amid a lukewarm reception for digital contact tracing by smartphone, and ongoing concerns that devices may be used for government surveillance.

Ken Mayer of the health tech organization Safe Health said the plan is to create "privacy-preserving health status verification solution" to enable public events to resume.

Related Links
Epidemics on Earth - Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Turkey approves China's Sinovac jab, Senegal in talks buy Sinopharm vaccine
Ankara (AFP) Jan 13, 2021
Turkey on Wednesday approved the emergency use of a coronavirus jab developed by China's Sinovac, paving the way for a national vaccination drive that will start with healthcare workers. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca rolled up his sleeve and received the first shot of CoronaVac after announcing plans to start administering it nationally on Thursday. "Everyone should get vaccinated because it is the only way to get rid of this pandemic," Koca said in televised comments. Turkey said last mont ... read more