Will Vaccination Passports Bring back Normal Life?
2021-03-10
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1Do you wish you could attend a live music performance sometime soon?
2If you have received a coronavirus vaccine in some countries, you might be able to.
3It usually takes a ticket to gain entrance to a music performance.
4But in some countries right now, you need more than that.
5You need a "green passport" which proves that you have already received a vaccination.
6Green passports are already being used in Israel, Greece and Cyprus.
7Those countries on the Mediterranean Sea are working together to open their economies and honor each other's green passports.
8Similar agreements are expected to be used in other nations to boost the number of foreign visitors.
9Aviv Geffen recently played piano for 300 people in Tel Aviv, Israel.
10He called the event "a miracle."
11Geffen said: "It's really the only way forward at the moment."
12Yuli Edelstein is the Health Minister in Israel.
13He said people who choose not to get the vaccine will be "left behind."
14People who came to Geffen's performance needed not only a ticket, but also proof of vaccination.
15Geffen said people will not be able to live their lives in the post-coronavirus world without receiving a vaccination.
16"We must take the vaccines. We must," he said.
17If some activities are only available to people who have received a vaccine shot, that could become a problem.
18Right now vaccines are mostly available in rich countries with good public health systems.
19Israel is a country like that.
20The small country has enough vaccine to treat all of its citizens over the age of 16.
21The government, however, has been criticized for being slow to provide vaccines to Palestinians who live in the territories partly occupied by Israel.
22People who are observing the worldwide effort to provide vaccines say that rich countries will get "herd immunity" sooner than poor countries.
23Lawrence Gostin is a professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
24He is the director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law.
25He called this problem "a moral crisis."
26He wondered whether it is fair to let rich countries open up faster than poor countries.
27Poor countries might not reach herd immunity for a number of years.
28People in rich countries already have more than people in poor countries, he said.
29In 2020 the WHO formed COVAX.
30Its goal was to get vaccines to poor countries at about the same time they were getting to rich countries.
31Recently Ghana, a country in West Africa, was the first to receive vaccines from COVAX.
32Vaccines are now going to an increasing number of countries through the program.
33About 80 percent of the 210 million doses of vaccine administered around the world so far have gone to rich countries.
34Drug companies in some of those countries developed the vaccines.
35People who have already been vaccinated are excited to get back to some version of their old lives.
36Countries like Great Britain are studying the use of a "COVID status certification."
37Such a measure would permit people to go back to work or attend large gatherings.
38But Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed some concern.
39"We can't be discriminatory against people who, for whatever reason, can't have the vaccine," he said.
40A vaccination passport program could possibly help businesses that depend on visitors from other countries.
41But there is a concern that one country may not accept another country's certification.
42Andrew Bud runs a company called iProov that is working with the National Health Service in Britain.
43His company is testing an electronic vaccination passport technology.
44He said, in time, technology problems can be solved.
45But the more difficult problems will be "ethical, social, political and legal."
46The question, he said, is "how to balance the fundamental rights of citizens...with the benefits to society."
47I'm Dan Friedell.
1Do you wish you could attend a live music performance sometime soon? 2If you have received a coronavirus vaccine in some countries, you might be able to. It usually takes a ticket to gain entrance to a music performance. But in some countries right now, you need more than that. You need a "green passport" which proves that you have already received a vaccination. 3Green passports are already being used in Israel, Greece and Cyprus. Those countries on the Mediterranean Sea are working together to open their economies and honor each other's green passports. Similar agreements are expected to be used in other nations to boost the number of foreign visitors. 4Aviv Geffen recently played piano for 300 people in Tel Aviv, Israel. He called the event "a miracle." Geffen said: "It's really the only way forward at the moment." Yuli Edelstein is the Health Minister in Israel. He said people who choose not to get the vaccine will be "left behind." 5People who came to Geffen's performance needed not only a ticket, but also proof of vaccination. Geffen said people will not be able to live their lives in the post-coronavirus world without receiving a vaccination. "We must take the vaccines. We must," he said. 6If some activities are only available to people who have received a vaccine shot, that could become a problem. Right now vaccines are mostly available in rich countries with good public health systems. Israel is a country like that. The small country has enough vaccine to treat all of its citizens over the age of 16. The government, however, has been criticized for being slow to provide vaccines to Palestinians who live in the territories partly occupied by Israel. 7People who are observing the worldwide effort to provide vaccines say that rich countries will get "herd immunity" sooner than poor countries. Lawrence Gostin is a professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He is the director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. He called this problem "a moral crisis." 8He wondered whether it is fair to let rich countries open up faster than poor countries. Poor countries might not reach herd immunity for a number of years. People in rich countries already have more than people in poor countries, he said. 9In 2020 the WHO formed COVAX. Its goal was to get vaccines to poor countries at about the same time they were getting to rich countries. Recently Ghana, a country in West Africa, was the first to receive vaccines from COVAX. Vaccines are now going to an increasing number of countries through the program. About 80 percent of the 210 million doses of vaccine administered around the world so far have gone to rich countries. Drug companies in some of those countries developed the vaccines. 10People who have already been vaccinated are excited to get back to some version of their old lives. Countries like Great Britain are studying the use of a "COVID status certification." Such a measure would permit people to go back to work or attend large gatherings. 11But Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed some concern. "We can't be discriminatory against people who, for whatever reason, can't have the vaccine," he said. 12A vaccination passport program could possibly help businesses that depend on visitors from other countries. But there is a concern that one country may not accept another country's certification. 13Andrew Bud runs a company called iProov that is working with the National Health Service in Britain. His company is testing an electronic vaccination passport technology. 14He said, in time, technology problems can be solved. 15But the more difficult problems will be "ethical, social, political and legal." The question, he said, is "how to balance the fundamental rights of citizens...with the benefits to society." 16I'm Dan Friedell. 17Laurie Kellman wrote this story for the Associated Press. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 18Do you think you will travel if you have a vaccine passport sometime soon? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 19_______________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21ticket - n. a piece of paper that allows you to see a show, participate in an event, travel on a vehicle, etc. 22miracle - n. a very amazing or unusual event, thing, or achievement 23herd immunity - n. when enough people in a community have either recovered from an infection or been vaccinated against it, so that others in the community are protected against infection 24dose -n. the amount of a medicine or vaccine that is taken at one time 25status -n. the official position of a person under the law 26certification -n. official approval to do something legally 27ethical - adj. following accepted rules of behavior : morally right and good 28benefits - n. a good or helpful result or effect 29society - n. people in general thought of as living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values