As more people become vaccinated against the coronavirus, they are looking forward to a sense of normalcy by attending the things they used to, such as restaurants, games, etc. For some facets of life however, such as air travel, you may soon need to prove you’ve been vaccinated in order to participate. 

This way of proving your vaccination is called a “vaccine passport”, and is expected to be free and available on your phone with application. Already, the E.U has launched an effort to begin using vaccine passports that they hope to have fully operating by June. However, U.S federal officials also say there will be no plan to make them “broadly mandatory”. 

So, what do vaccine passports mean for a potential of returning to normalcy? For starters, vaccine passports could make it easier to travel. There’s a possibility that international travel bans can become eased thanks to vaccine passports, as they’d ensure a higher amount of safety when travelling.

Another place COVID-19 could spread easily would be stadiums, and two stadiums in New York, the Highmark Stadium and the Keybank center, already require a vaccine passport to attend games on the premises. Using the Excelsior pass phone app, ticket holders can verify their vaccination to attend in person safely. 

Not all places will require a vaccine passport to attend, however some businesses are looking towards requiring them for safety. They may become more and more common as time passes, however we’ll have to wait and see amidst complications. Besides the Excelsior pass app, other apps are being developed to let users verify their vaccination, which could become tricky if different places require different apps for verification. 

In the future, you may expect to see some places require a vaccination passport. This will hopefully insure safety when large crowds gather, and help the world return to normal sooner rather than later.