Vaccination Passport Comparison

by | Feb 8, 2021 |

In 2021, the COVID-19 Vaccine Passport will become the most important travel document. A globally-acceptable digital Vaccine Passport could be the key to countries reopening borders around the world — soon, vaccine passports could become the de facto document used by individuals to prove immunity.

In this blog, I compare and contrast privacy, ethics, equity and scalability of Vaccination Passport-type initiatives. We will be comparing the following 5 Vaccine passport initiatives:

- BlockID

- MIT safepath

- Commonpass

- Consensas Information Passports

- Healthvana

Before we start, there’s a few technical terms that are relevant for the comparison. Serialization available describes how data is stored; generally, serialization allows data to be transmitted and reconstructed more easily. A Semantic Model is a model of what the data in the serialization means, capable of replicating the value of an application environment better that most normal database models.

In addition, some criteria help certain passports stand out among others. For example, ‘Open / Closed’ signifies if a passport is open-source; if yes, that means the code behind the passport is freely available to the public and it is encouraged to build upon and share it. Another interesting criteria is whether the passport is built on W3C Verifiable Credentials; if yes, that means they have a web token that allows for easier validation of information on the passport.

 

  1. BlockID

“COVID-19 vaccination: BlockID brings a robust solution to 2 key issues. (1) The citizen who’s showing you their paper COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card is who he says he is? (2) The confirmation of vaccination has not been compromised while stored in the proper authority’s database?”

Blockchain solution based on 1kosmos identity/wallet solution.

2. MIT SafePaths Paper Credentials and Group Credentials

Offline credentials: A modified paper vaccination card which carries digitally signed (QR) codes and a scanner app for health officials for data aggregation.

3. Commonpass

Go/No Go for entry

  • Demo Video: CommonPass framework for safe and secure border crossing
  • Website: https://commonpass.org/
  • Status: active
  • App / Wallet based: wallet?
  • Code Available: no
  • Serialization Available: no
  • Semantic Model: it must have one, but not published
  • Built on W3C Verifiable Credentials: no
  • Open / Closed: closed
  • Trust Authority: Commonpass is it’s own Trust Authority, basically asking countries to send their standards to CommonPass.

4. Consensas Information Passports

  • Demo Video: no
  • Website: https://github.com/Consensas/information-passport/tree/main/docs
  • Status: active
  • App / Wallet based: no (url / browser / qr code)
  • Code Available: yes
  • Serialization Available: yes (see section below)
  • Semantic Model: yes, schema.org based
  • Built on W3C Verifiable Credentials: yes
  • Open / Closed: open

5. Healthvana

Lab / testing software, now with an added component for digital vaccination records.

  • Demo Video: no
  • Website: https://healthvana.com/
  • Status: commercial, active
  • App / Wallet based: app
  • Code Available: no
  • Serialization Available: no
  • Semantic Model: unknown
  • W3C Verifiable Credentials: no
  • Open / Closed: closed

Special thanks: some details gathered by David Janes

 

About PathCheck
PathCheck Foundation, a generously funded 501(c)(3) non-profit spin-off from MIT, is developing decentralized pandemic response solutions using an open-source, open standard interoperable model. PathCheck is committed to sustained innovation in the middle of rapidly changing protocols, APIs, and epidemiological research in the pandemic response. Previously, PathCheck has delivered Google/Apple Exposure Notification based full-featured apps in 5 US states/territories and multiple nations. The PathCheck Foundation has now developed a new privacy-preserving approach to vaccine rollout and distribution, utilizing a vaccination app and physical cards. Follow updates at https://pathcheck.org/en/blog/.