Canada Going Ahead with Vaccine Passport for Travel

[Robjame]

Although the details are sketchy, it appears it won’t be ready until December.

Are you in favour?

[d9704011]

It appears as though 'digital vaccine verification' will be a necessary thing for international travel for some time to come.  I am not surprised that the federal government is working towards an international standard (much like passport books) on this emerging requirement.

[puppycanducruise]

I'm in favour.  I think some sort of vaccination verification is necessary.

[DirtyDawg]

I doesn't matter if I'm in favour of vaccination passports or not. More and more jurisdictions have decided to go this route and so If I want to travel internationally I'll have to accept them. 

[Robjame]

33 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

I doesn't matter if I'm in favour of vaccination passports or not. More and more jurisdictions have decided to go this route and so If I want to travel internationally I'll have to accept them

It is said that the Federal Government changed its position after a poll showed that 80% of the fully vaccinated were in favour - the other 20% dont travel.

 
In that DD wants to travel, I’ll put you in the “in favour category. BTW - may not be only international.

[Magicat]

It's a good idea, not just for this current virus, but for all vaccinations.  MRP, yellow fever, typhoid, etc...  I know I have one of those yellow cards but I am sure it is not updated.  Something electronic with paper back up would be nice.

[K_e_short]

Sounds like a fantastic idea.

 

It is allows us to easily travel then yes.

 

We were told to get vaccinated to "do the right thing", "to get back to the things we like to do", etc.

 

This would allow those that can and want to travel to do so.

 

We have been concentrating on opening up businesses, schools, etc. but at some point we need to look wider to international travel.

 

 

[Fouremco]

I'm totally in favour of passports, and only regret that it has taken the government so long to come to the conclusion that they are necessary. The biggest surprise for me is that the role of developing the passport has been given to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada instead of Health Canada or Passport Canada.

[iancal]

Absolutely.  Pre covid we traveled frequently-mostly international.

 

Our hope is that it will be a vaccine passport, not simply a covid vaccine passport.  Would like to see everything else loaded from our international vaccine book such as hep, yellow fever, tetanus, ...all of them.

 

My guess is that Canada has been working with other counties in order to arrive at some internationally accepted standard.  Let's hope so.  We need an international solution to this.

Edited August 7, 2021 by iancal

[3Shelaghs]

3 hours ago, iancal said:

 

Our hope is that it will be a vaccine passport, not simply a covid vaccine passport.  Would like to see everything else loaded from our international vaccine book such as hep, yellow fever, tetanus, ...all of them.

Darn storms wrecking havoc with internet....

I must be out of the loop, I've lived a loooong time in Canada, and no one has an international vaccine passport. I am quite sure legal proof would be needed to upload any previous vax, which would darn near be impossible from an aspect of retrieving old doctors notes. Ha, most of my doctors are all long dead, along with my files.

I have no issue with vaccine passports, it's very easily done electronically, I'm even willing to pay, but there isn't a hope in **** of retrieving proof of anything jabbed in my arm other than Moderna.

Maybe you were referring to "going forward", which I'm all for. But no no one in Canada has legal vaccine book. Only the little yellow ones given out by the doctors nurse in the 70's to record your kids shots. (not legal). 

Of course there are many Cdns who feel that the govt getting involved with knowledge of your personal medical records as a huge invasion of privacy, and to a point, they do have a point.

[iancal]

We have proof.  All of our vaccinations from the travel clinic from 10 years ago, etc. are loaded on to our electronic Alberta Health record.  Including our recent Pfizer shots that include lot number etc.  Plus entered in our yellow book.

 

I was surprised.  Even our Twinrix hep shots done at a doctors office  15 or years ago are on the record....ready to be loaded up.    Not to mention every flu shot that we have got at Costco over the past ten years.

 

Our current International  Record of Vaccinations is nothing more than a yellow booklet with records of our vaccinations handwritten in.  DW is still using the once she had when she went into nursing 50 years ago!

 

This is the book that we were required to show proof of yellow fever numerous times when we went to several African countries a few years ago.    We noticed that others in line had exactly the same booklet.  Legal or not...this is what they immigration folks wanted.

Edited August 7, 2021 by iancal

[3Shelaghs]

Another reason we all need to move out west!!!!

There is nothing like that here in Ontario. A travel clinic is a privately arranged visit, recognized but not part of our regular doctors clinics. 

When I went into nursing, the old doc slammed the vaccines into my arms, with a cigarette hanging out one side of his mouth (same guy that delivered me... great doctor), there were no records, just my word of mouth of receiving the shot with a chicken scratch piece of paper by him to give to the nrsg officer.

Our flu shot program was encouraged everywhere, no records, just step up to the plate. 

Speed forward, and now Ontario Health uses your health card for all transactions, but we Covid vax'd a sector of society that didn't wish to produce health cards(read between the lines), so there would be no record. 

My Covid shots were all duly recorded by Ontario Health and they did a great job..... once we got the vaccine..............and we do have legal proof of those.

If I received a vax at a grocery store, or pharmacy, my doctor doesn't know but my private health insurer does, as they paid for it. 

Packing our suitcases and heading west..... Canmore.......:) 

[gnome12]

When I was a kid (I'm 65 now) there was a smallpox vaccination booklet that was required for travelling. About the same size as a passport, you generally had to show both of them. When smallpox was eradicated, it was no longer necessary. I have been to Africa, but avoided the yellow fever vaccination. However, I did get a Government of Canada yellow folder called Certificate of Medical Contraindication to Vaccination, that says that Yellow Fever vaccination was medically not indicated, and it is stamped with an official stamp of the (non) administering centre. This is separate from the Ontario Ministry of Health Immunization Record which is smaller and is the one used by schools. (I have it only because I wanted to be able to keep track of my own vaccinations, some of which I filled in myself.) Unlike the discussions above for Alberta, I don't believe that all of these vaccinations are in an Ontario database; I got some of them at travel medical clinics (not paid for by OHIP) and some at my family doctor's office.

[iancal]

I was SHOCKED when I went on my Alberta Health website account to see if my covid shots were recorded.  I had signed up for the account two years ago but I very had reason to access it other than set up my password.  Everything was there, including my medical etc from 9 years ago. 

 

Every time have had the flu shot (always gratis) we had to provide our health card number. Same for the travel clinic, etc.   Somehow the boffins figured out how to merge it into a patient friendly electronic record system that each of us could access.  

 

Seems to me when we lived in BC everything was similarly recorded.  Not certain if those records are on line and available to patients.  No idea what they did when we lived in Ontario or Quebec.

 

In theory it should be very easy but.....this is Government.

 

Edited August 7, 2021 by iancal

[Fouremco]

16 minutes ago, iancal said:

 

In theory it should be very easy but.....this is Government.

With most things medical falling under the purview of the individual provinces and territories, on the one hand, and the inability of the first ministers to agree on just about anything, on the other, I'm really not surprised to see the many varied approaches to record keeping.

 

In a post earlier today, I expressed my surprise that the responsibility for developing the new vaccination passport was assigned to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Now I'm wondering if this wasn't a purposeful move to keep it out of the "medical" category so that it can be handled as a federal responsibility.

[iancal]

10 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

With most things medical falling under the purview of the individual provinces and territories, on the one hand, and the inability of the first ministers to agree on just about anything, on the other, I'm really not surprised to see the many varied approaches to record keeping.

 

In a post earlier today, I expressed my surprise that the responsibility for developing the new vaccination passport was assigned to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Now I'm wondering if this wasn't a purposeful move to keep it out of the "medical" category so that it can be handled as a federal responsibility.

I absolutely believe that it was purposeful.   It also gave me hope that Canada is indeed working with other international partners.  After all...who are the people that will be looking at this?  It will be immigration in other foreign countries as we travel and various travel providers. And..it will be connected in some way (hopefully) to our passports.

 

The very last thing I would want is the Health Ministry of 10 Provinces trying to agree.  Our Alberta Government for a start will disagree with anything and everything that comes from Ottawa or indeed from those 'eastern' provinces if for no other reason but petty political gain.

Edited August 7, 2021 by iancal

[DirtyDawg]

15 hours ago, Fouremco said:

In a post earlier today, I expressed my surprise that the responsibility for developing the new vaccination passport was assigned to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Now I'm wondering if this wasn't a purposeful move to keep it out of the "medical" category so that it can be handled as a federal responsibility.

Definitively a possibility. We do have a quirky little Constitution, don't we?  

[Fouremco]

7 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

Definitively a possibility. We do have a quirky little Constitution, don't we?  

LOL, quirky indeed!

[frteach]

I am glad to see that the feds are getting on this, given the reluctance of Ontario's premier to create a proof of vaccination card, which he claims would further divide society. Hello, we are already divided into those who have the shots and those who don't! Those who have a legitimate medical exemption could have a card that states that as well. If it is developed in cooperation with like-minded nations, so much the better. I have a lot of international travel in my plans for my life. Go for it, Justin.

[Robjame]

Update on the Canadian Vaccine Passport plan.

 

The date has been moved up to the fall. This article contains some information about the details of what the passport might contain and how it might be used:

 

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/vaccine-passports-for-foreign-travel-expected-this-fall-1.5543267

 

 

 

[iancal]

It will not be straightforward.  We definitely need it.

 

We will each have to approve the release of individual  our health information from Provincial records to the Federal Gov't.

 

The various  Provincial electronic health records systems will have to be synced up the Federal vaccine passport system.

 

Lots of room for delays and snafus.  

Edited August 12, 2021 by iancal

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, iancal said:

It will not be straightforward.  We definitely need it.

 

We will each have to approve the release of individual  our health information from Provincial records to the Federal Gov't.

 

The various  Provincial electronic health records systems will have to be synced up the Federal vaccine passport system.

 

Lots of room for delays and snafus.  

I'm in total favour of the federal passport, but I too can see delays while lawyers representing all of the involved parties work through the legislation governing the release of medical information. This website provides a quick glimpse of the nature and extent of federal, provincial, territorial and even municipal legislation.  https://www.colleaga.org/article/healthcare-privacy-legislation-canada

 

I'm hoping that there can be some early agreement that having been vaccinated for Covid-19 does not constitute personal medical information that needs protection. If you were given a vaccine to combat an STD or other existing medical condition, I can understand the need for protecting that information, but a vaccination that everyone should get is a very different thing as it doesn't reflect of your medical status.

[Evilmuffin]

Since not everyone wants the passport or needs it, then why not just allow people that want it so they can travel.  Just like your normal passport that is required to go to another country.   

[Fouremco]

38 minutes ago, Evilmuffin said:

Since not everyone wants the passport or needs it, then why not just allow people that want it so they can travel.  Just like your normal passport that is required to go to another country.   

It's too early to tell exactly what the format of the "passport" will be, other than being digital. So if you don't want or need it, there's no need to acquire the app.  That's similar to the situation today in Ontario, where you can access your vaccination record online and download proof of vaccination, but it's your choice to do so or not. All the passport will do is provide easier access in an internationally accepted digital format.

[bebe08]

Definitely in favour!!

 

I live in Quebec and as a result my health records are in my maiden name.  My passport is in my married name.  I have the Quebec QR code as proof of my vaccinations for covid but of course the name wouldn't match my passport which may cause issues for international travel.  I am hoping the federal vaccination passport will deal with this as I am sure there are lots of women in Quebec in same situation.