“We need a reliable, temporary and accessible ‘health pass’ for everyone”

Tribune. In Melbourne, Australia, thousands of people gathered to see tennis; in Tel Aviv, Israel, people prepare for the reopening of cafes and restaurants; in Europe, our English neighbors are already starting to book their summer holidays. What about us? What will our summer 2021 look like? Will we be able to travel freely? Will we be able to go to restaurants and cultural places, to attend the Roland-Garros tournament or to a play?

Faced with the perpetuation of freedom-killing constraints and our economic and social record, there is cause for concern. But fortunately, there is also something to hope for: two perspectives of opening are offered to us, the “sanitary pass” and the green zones. Both advocating a pragmatic and differentiated policy, based solely on epidemiological criteria, the first proposal is of a micro nature – it is about regaining individual freedoms -, the second is a macro – or territorial approach. Supported by the deployment of vaccines, these proposals can accelerate the way out of the crisis, both in terms of health and economics. Imperatives which, contrary to what we sometimes think, are not contradictory, as the economists Philippe Aghion and Patrick Artus showed in a forum at the World, February 24.

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A European digital green certificate

In Europe, a digital green certificate has been offers this week by the European Commission. The idea is quite simple: some people are at a lower risk of transmitting the virus, and should therefore be able to enjoy more freedoms. Whether we adhere to this principle or not, this solution is attractive and is spreading throughout the world. Israel and Greece, for example, have already signed a bilateral agreement in favor of a vaccination passport. In France, where the epidemiological situation is among the worst on the continent and vaccination is still very much in the minority, a less restrictive health pass could allow as of now a targeted reopening of restaurants, cultural places, even ski resorts – in short, everyone. these places that we miss so much. These could be reserved only for those who have a health “green light”: vaccine, immunity, recent negative test or fourteen.

Defended by the scientific council, such a tool is debated at the Elysee Palace, which will have to decide in the days to come. And if the Elysée hesitates, it is partly because such a measure seems to undermine the principle of equality, to which we are so attached – not everyone has access to the vaccine, and we must protect individual data because the vaccine is not compulsory. However, a strict reconfinement would be difficult for us today: this is why we must, as soon as we have the possibility, to reconnect with this freedom which has been sacrificed so much lately. Getting back to normal is not a privilege, but a right that each and every one of us is eager to regain. And for that, we need a reliable, temporary and accessible health pass for everyone, otherwise its adoption could undermine the foundations of our democracy. Hence the need, for example, to include testing in the equation.

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