DT chosen to help create global health passport

Among the many precedents set by the Covid pandemic is the requirement to be vaccinated before you’re allowed to travel and that’s set to become a global standard.

The World Heath Organization, which had such a great pandemic, wants to ‘facilitate’ its 194 member states to introduce digital vaccination certificates. To do so it’s setting up a ‘gateway’ to standardize the issuing of QR codes that confer privileged health status to their owner. Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Systems has been chosen as an industry partner to develop the vaccination validation services.

“Corona has a grip on the world,” said Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of T-Systems. “Digitization keeps the world running. Digital vaccination certificates like the EU’s are key to this. We are pleased to be able to support the WHO in the fight against the pandemic. Health is a strategic growth area for T-Systems. Winning this contract underscores our commitment to the industry.”

Such assertions would have carried more weight a year ago but, with the UK ending all Covid-related restrictions and many other countries headed in that direction, this renewed zeal for the mandating of vaccines proven to have limited efficacy is baffling. It’s almost as if organizations like the WHO are reluctant to relinquish the massive increase in their power the pandemic conferred.

“COVID-19 affects everyone,” asserted Gerrett Mehl, Unit Head, WHO Department of Digital Health and Innovation. “Countries will therefore only emerge from the pandemic together. Vaccination certificates that are tamper-proof and digitally verifiable build trust. WHO is therefore supporting member states in building national and regional trust networks and verification technology. The WHO’s gateway service also serves as a bridge between regional systems. It can also be used as part of future vaccination campaigns and home-based records.”

It will certainly affect everyone if the WHO has anything to do with it. T-Systems is already involved in a similar scheme devised by the EU, which is presumably why it got this gig. The WHO intends this system to apply to other vaccinations too, so it’s not even hiding the planned mission creep. A system like this could easily be adapted to attach other conditions to international travel, thus facilitating a global social credit system. Fun times.