Quebecer have been getting an email or a piece of paper after their first COVID-19 vaccine. However, starting on Thursday, the government will be issuing the long-awaited official digital proof of vaccination.
The proof will take the form of a QR code and can be scanned on a cellphone. It is similar to the boarding pass at the airport. However, the code has no use for now, and no one can be able to read it.
However, businesses are pressuring for a way to scan customers so that COVID-19 rules can be relaxed. Health Minister Christian Dube on Tuesday indicated that it won’t be possible for now except for the government.
“There are no applications for this right now at all, and I’m just saying that there is no application because the only group that has the key tool to be able to read the QR code is us.”
However, there are ethical questions that Canadian are worried about, especially when required to show proof of vaccination. Dube predicted that more is coming in June, including the issues surrounding ethics and logistics in the idea of vaccine passports.
Dube added that the government would get the codes running soon, maybe in the next few weeks. And people with the code at one point will be able to use them.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also spoke on the issue noting that there are compelling arguments on both sides of requiring vaccine proof and not requiring it. He insisted that the important thing to do now is to encourage people to get vaccinated, and then the idea of vaccine proof can come in.
Trudeau added that Canada needs a majority of the population to be vaccinated to allow certain activities. He added that even those with medical conditions and who cannot be vaccinated need to explore vaccination options around them. He also noted that there are good reasons to maintain privacy around vaccination.
