Study suggests Covid passports may increase vaccine uptake | Corona Virus

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A study has found that coronavirus passports can lead to increased uptake of vaccines, especially among young people.

Research by Oxford University found that Covid-19 certification increased vaccine uptake 20 days before and 40 days after introduction in countries with lower-than-average vaccination coverage. The increase in vaccine uptake was more pronounced in people under 30 years of age. The modeling analysis was published in The Lancet Public Health.

Coronavirus passports require people to have proof of a full vaccination, negative test, or a Covid-19 recovery certificate to access public venues and events, such as restaurants or concerts. In addition to helping prevent the spread of the coronavirus in public places, it has been suggested that they may encourage more unvaccinated people to get vaccinated, particularly those who see their risk of hospitalization or death from Covid-19 being low.

Professor Melinda Mills, Director of the Leverholm Center for Demographic Sciences at Oxford University and lead author of the study said: “With mass vaccination programs continuing to play a central role in protecting public health in this pandemic, increasing vaccine uptake is critical both to protecting vaccinated individuals and breaking chains of infection in this pandemic. the society.

Our study is the first important empirical evaluation of whether Covid-19 certification can form part of this strategy. Overall, we observed a significant rise in anticipation of restrictions approximately 20 days prior to introduction, which persisted until 40 days afterwards, but the context of current vaccination uptake, vaccine frequency, levels of trust in authorities, and the course of the pandemic were critical. to influence.”

Many countries have introduced or are considering providing Covid-19 certification, but whether this public health intervention increases vaccine uptake is unclear. From Wednesday, NHS Covid permits showing full vaccination or a recent negative test will be required in England to enter indoor spaces of more than 500 people, unequipped outdoor spaces of more than 4,000 people, and any place with more than 10,000 people, voting day. Tuesday.

Some survey-based evidence indicated that people reported that they would be less likely to be vaccinated if Covid passports were presented, while some countries reported increases in turnout after submitting a Covid-19 certificate.

In the study, researchers linked data on Covid certification submitted between April and September of this year to uptake of vaccination in six countries where certification was legally required — Denmark, Israel, Italy, France, Germany and Switzerland.

The study used modeling to estimate what would have been vaccine uptake without certification for Covid-19 in all six countries, based on vaccination uptake trends from 19 similar control countries without certification.

In countries where vaccine coverage was previously low, the introduction of vaccine passports was associated with a significant increase in the number of additional vaccine doses per million people – 127,823 in France, 243,151 in Israel, 64,952 in Switzerland and 66,382 In Italy, according to the study. .

The researchers found that in Denmark and Germany, where vaccination rates were higher on average, there was no significant increase in vaccination after certification was provided.

Study co-author Dr Tobias Rottnauer, from the University of Oxford, said: “We know that certain groups have lower uptake of the vaccine than others, and Covid-19 certification may be a useful way to encourage anti-vaccine groups, such as young people and men to be vaccinated.

However, Covid-19 certification alone is not a silver bullet to improve vaccine uptake and should be used in conjunction with other policies. Vaccine hesitation due to a lack of trust in authorities, which is common among some ethnic minorities and lower socioeconomic groups, could be more successfully addressed through other interventions, such as targeted vaccine campaigns and community dialogue to generate more understanding about Covid-19 vaccines. “

The authors said there are limitations to their study. There were no data available to examine vaccine uptake by sociodemographic, gender, and ethnic groups. They also stressed that Covid-19 certification policies across the six countries were different for different reasons, and acknowledged that the reasons for vaccine hesitation varied across different countries, which may limit the generalizability of their findings.

The authors also raised several issues associated with Covid passports that policy makers should consider, including the risk of exacerbating inequality between communities with low intakes, leading to unequal access to public spaces as Covid-19 vaccine rollout oscillates depending on Age, cementing digital divides if passports are electronic and data privacy concerns.

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