France to Begin Trial of Vaccine Passport with Overseas Territories

France has announced that they will begin a trial of their version of a “vaccine passport,” according to a statement made by the French Minister of Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari.

The passport trial will last for one month and will only include the French overseas Caribbean territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique. These are technically long-haul flights, however, it is not considered to be international travel because of their status as French territories.

The month-long trial will be administered by Air France.

Using the passport will be much different than some places who have done similar things. The passport will be a mobile app, on which proof of an approved COVID-19 vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test must be uploaded.

Currently in France and globally there are not many ways to get proof of vaccination of negative test results, meaning that there could be a lot of kinks to work out when trying to get the passports implemented.

There are concerns that if we start using vaccine passports, it could lead to discrimination and inequities, however. For example, the Ada Lovelace Institute carried out a review that concluded that the implementation of vaccine passports is not currently justified.

France’s version of the passport might actually not lead to these negative consequences however, due to the fact that there is an option for either proof of vaccination or proof of a negative test.

France has still not set a date to review their rules on international travel, which will likely depend on the outcomes of this trail of their vaccine passport.

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