Challenges and Implications of the WHO’s Digital Cross-Border COVID-19 Vaccine Passport Recognition Pilot

As the development and distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations continues, the concept of a digital Yellow Card or smart vaccine passport has been discussed. Verifying an individual’s COVID-19 vaccination would improve cross-border mobility and limit the potential spread of the virus. Recently, the WHO signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Estonia for providing expertise and technical solutions like the interoperable cross-border data exchange ecosystem, X-Road, for piloting a smart vaccine passport trust architecture. Subsequently, the WHO is in the beginning stages of undergoing a process of digital transformation to accommodate the pilot (DT). In this paper, the authors present an exploratory case study using qualitative workshop methods and data triangulation to investigate the technical, political and organizational DT processes occurring in the pilot project. The results suggest the proposed cross-border data exchange trust architecture would exchange non-sensitive personal health information. Some WHO countries are willing to participate and engage in the pilot, but political and legal barriers remain for large-scale implementation. Ultimately, the potential establishment of a trusted global architecture health framework, where not only COVID-19 vaccine data can be exchanged, but new cross-border health services can be created, warrants further investigation.