The South Korean Prime Minister has announced the launch of a blockchain-based vaccine certificate later this month, but the concept has proven controversial around the world.
South Korea will introduce blockchain-based vaccine passports via a smartphone app later this month, the country’s prime minister said on Thursday.
South Korea joins other countries in introducing vaccine certificates that allow cross-border travel and mitigate the risk of infections.
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Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun suggested that there could also be substantial benefits for citizens at home:
“The introduction of a vaccine passport or ‘green pass’ will only allow those who have been vaccinated to experience the recovery of their daily lives,” he said during a daily interagency response meeting to the pandemic.
The government developed the application using blockchain technology as a way to provide security against the possibility of identity theft. “[Systems] in other countries also do not store personal information and allow checking the status of vaccines,” Chung said.
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Although 77,000 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in South Korea so far, the country recorded another 551 daily cases on Wednesday. The government expects to have vaccinated 12 million people by June.
Brazil is also using a blockchain-based system to track vaccines, while IBM helped New York develop the Excelsior Pass, which uses blockchain technology for information security. The New York state government said about the pass:
“Businesses and locals can scan and validate your pass to make sure it meets any COVID testing or vaccination requirements for entry.”
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China has implemented a system and the European Union plans to do so before June. The International Air Transport Association is developing an app called the Travel Pass, which could become the norm for cross-border travel.
Passports remain highly controversial, especially in the United States and in parts of the crypto community. South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem called the concept “one of the most anti-American ideas in our nation’s history,” while Ron DeSantis, the Republican Governor of Florida, is attempting to ban mandatory COVID passes in the state.
Cryptocurrencies may also play a small role in thwarting efforts to enforce non-blockchain-based vaccination certificates. The BBC reports that the cybersecurity agency CheckPoint found 1,200 vaccine advertisements and vaccine passports on the darknet:
“Investigators at Check Point found that many vendors were offering fake documents, including one purportedly from the UK, with a vaccination card for $ 150 using hard-to-trace Bitcoin as a payment method.”
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