• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers

3

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers

3

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Healthvaccine passport

Vaccine passports are here—so why are there still so many travel restrictions?

Grady McGregor
By
Grady McGregor
Grady McGregor
Down Arrow Button Icon
Grady McGregor
By
Grady McGregor
Grady McGregor
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 9, 2021, 6:18 AM ET
Video Poster

Vaccine passports are here, but governments will need to trust them—and one another—to facilitate the safe restart of global travel.

As of Wednesday, countries had distributed nearly 2.2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses globally. Reported COVID-19 infections are falling in places with high vaccination rates, like the U.S., U.K., and Israel.

But borders are locked and in-bound quarantine rules remain in place around much of the globe, even though public health bodies like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control say that quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated individuals poses few health risks for travelers and the destinations they visit. That’s not due to a lack of tools to facilitate travel for vaccinated people.

“It’s not technology that’s the missing piece,” Nick Careen, senior vice president of airport, passenger, cargo, and security at the International Air Transport Association, said Tuesday on a Fortune Global Tech Forum virtual conversation. Fifty-eight airlines are using IATA’s platform, which verifies COVID tests and vaccination records. “It is mutual recognition between countries that takes time,” Careen said. “And we hope it happens faster.”

Developing global vaccine passport standards has been a slow process. The World Health Organization (WHO) has mulled various proposals since last December under a Smart Vaccination Certificate working group. But after issuing initial draft recommendations in March, the WHO has not provided any concrete standards.

“We are not too far from block zero. I mean, that’s the reality,” said Fabio Vacirca, CEO of Accenture Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. “Two-hundred governments is a very big number of potential agreements that need to be in place to mutually recognize [vaccine passports], whatever standards will be adopted.”

Jennifer Zhu Scott, executive chairman of the Commons Project, a digital services nonprofit that has developed a vaccine verification platform called Common Pass, agrees that the likelihood of all countries adopting a shared standard is low.

“Even with all the vaccines and fast [COVID-19] testing, we still rely on old methods [like quarantines] because country A can never trust country B,” she says.

Full resumption of global travel may be months—if not years—away, but pockets of international travel may restart soon.

Blocs like the European Union and the G7 are creating their own standards for recognizing vaccinated travelers, while China and Japan are developing stand-alone vaccine passport platforms and want to negotiate travel corridors with other nations on a bilateral basis.

“We’ve already seen travel in Europe…North America won’t be far behind, and [Asia] will probably be last, unfortunately,” said Careen. The U.S. and Europe are reopening their economies amid speedy vaccine rollouts, while some countries in Asia appear to be more cautious about unlocking their borders, he said.

Resumption of international travel may be further off for poor countries that are unable to secure vaccines. For now, a nation’s ability to procure and distribute vaccines remains closely tied to its wealth. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this week that high-income nations have gobbled up 44% of the world’s COVID-19 vaccine supplies, leaving just 0.4% of the vaccines for low-income countries.

“The vaccine distribution to the global south is particularly problematic,” says Zhu Scott. But she argues that rather than exacerbate inequalities, platforms like Common Pass can help normalize travel and other everyday activities until the world gets COVID-19 under control.

“We’ve built a digital infrastructure to enable people and our society to coexist with the pandemic before we can exit the global pandemic,” she said.

The Fortune 500 Innovation Forum will convene Fortune 500 executives, U.S. policy officials, top founders, and thought leaders to help define what’s next for the American economy, Nov. 16-17 in Detroit. Apply here.
About the Author
Grady McGregor
By Grady McGregor
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Health

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Health

Ashley Yetman
Commentarydisruption
Everyone is blaming AI for the death of ‘craft.’ Take a good look in the mirror
By Ashley YetmanMay 23, 2026
2 hours ago
The health benefits of saunas: backed by research and experts 
HealthHealth
The health benefits of saunas: backed by research and experts 
By Katie MooreMay 22, 2026
21 hours ago
Kaged Whey Protein Isolate Review (2026): Our Honest Opinions
HealthDietary Supplements
Kaged Whey Protein Isolate Review (2026): Our Honest Opinions
By Emily PharesMay 22, 2026
23 hours ago
Gabrielle Judge, a content creator known as “Ms. Anti Work"
SuccessWorkplace Innovation Summit
Founder of Ms. Anti Work says her ‘lazy girl job’ allowed her to only work a few hours a day—and she built her media company on the side
By Emma BurleighMay 22, 2026
1 day ago
What is red light therapy?: Our experts break down the new wellness trend
HealthHealth
What is red light therapy?: Our experts break down the new wellness trend
By Katie MooreMay 21, 2026
2 days ago
Legion Recharge Creatine Review (2026): Expert Tested
HealthDietary Supplements
Legion Recharge Creatine Review (2026): Expert Tested
By Christina SnyderMay 21, 2026
2 days ago

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Success
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
2 days ago
Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers
Success
Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers
By Emma BurleighMay 22, 2026
22 hours ago
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
3 days ago
Microsoft reports are exposing AI's real cost problem: Using the tech is more expensive than paying human employees
AI
Microsoft reports are exposing AI's real cost problem: Using the tech is more expensive than paying human employees
By Jake AngeloMay 22, 2026
21 hours ago
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
4 days ago
Apple’s Steve Wozniak says he cofounded the tech giant after 5 rejections from HP—not to ‘make money.’ For years, his paycheck was just $50
Success
Apple’s Steve Wozniak says he cofounded the tech giant after 5 rejections from HP—not to ‘make money.’ For years, his paycheck was just $50
By Preston ForeMay 22, 2026
23 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.