Senators file bill seeking to establish vaccine passport

At least two senators have filed a bill seeking to establish a vaccine passport program that would help the government keep track and easily identify Filipinos record of inoculations against the COVID-19.

In filing Senate Bill No. 1999 or the proposed “Vaccine Passport Program Act,” Sen. Pia Cayetano said it is necessary to put on record who has been inoculated, with which kind of vaccine, when and how many doses were administered and other matters related to the government’s intensive vaccination plan against the coronavirus.

The senator said these vaccine passports shall primarily be digital in form but shall also be available through printed copies to ensure accessibility for all.

This would allow the government to monitor the distribution of vaccines, their effects on people, the overall effectiveness of the immunization program and to gather data for post-market surveillance.

Cayetano said the vaccine passports shall contain standard information such as the manufacturer, brand name and batch number or other identifier of the COVID-19 vaccine; date of vaccination, name of the hospital, health center or health facility where the vaccines was received; and name, signature and licensed number of the duly licensed physician, nurse or other health worker administering the vaccine.

She said the measure also recommends that individuals vaccinated against the coronavirus, as indicated in their vaccine passports, be granted certain benefits or exemptions, subject to the guidelines to be issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).

The benefits could include international travel, non-essential domestic travel, local checkpoint and quarantine exemptions and access to business establishments allowed to operate during the “new normal.”

“We should recognize the importance of preventive healthcare and the need to take proactive measures in the fight against diseases, particularly COVID-19,” Cayetano said.

"A comprehensive, mandatory, and sustainable immunization program for vaccinepreventable diseases - including the novel coronavirus - is indispensable to achieve the objectives of universal healthcare and the country’s commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly on SDG 3 - Good Health and WellBeing,” the senator stressed.

Similar to Cayetano, Sen. Grace Poe’s version of the measure, Senate Bill No. 1994, primarily authorizes the Health secretary to issue “vaccine passports” that would serve as proof of the holder that he/she has completed a full course of COVID-19 immunization.

“The idea of vaccine passports, alongside the rapid rollout of COVID-19 vaccination, has recently gained traction in international circles,” Poe said in the explanatory note of her bill.

“Countries such as Denmark, Greece and Israel have all started to take steps in this direction,” she said.

The bill, Poe said, is also “future-proofed” as it also covers the issuance of vaccine passports for other emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases that could arise in the future.

“The measure is being filed should legislation be needed to enable the issuance of a vaccine passport to Filipino citizens,” Poe also said.