| Seven European countries started issuing "vaccine passports" yesterday, underscoring how digital credential systems could play a critical role in resuming international travel. "The EU Digital Covid Certificate" is a special code that can be shown on a screen or printed out to verify that a person has been vaccinated against the coronavirus, received a negative test or has recovered from the virus. The system seeks to exempt people with certificates from certain quarantine requirements. Germany and Greece are among the countries already issuing the passes, and the certificates are expected to be rolled out in all 27 European Union countries as of July 1. "EU citizens are looking forward to travelling again, and they want to do so safely," Stella Kyriakides, European commissioner for health and food safety, said in a news release. "Having an EU certificate is a crucial step on the way." Europe and the United States are taking divergent approaches to using technology to reopen society. European lawmakers are positioning their approach as "a common tool" that will allow people to travel more freely between countries. That stands in sharp contrast to the United States, where proposals for a national vaccine passport system emerged as a political lightning rod and sparked privacy concerns. However, Americans may have to use such tools to verify vaccination statuses abroad. The goal is for all travelers, not just European residents, to connect to the E.U.'s digital system, as Michael Birnbaum and Quentin Ariès reported. But until then, some vaccinated Americans may still be subject to quarantines. The European Commission is engaged in talks with the United States about how to confirm the vaccination status of American travelers, the New York Times reports. Yet there are challenges for rolling out such programs. One of the biggest issues with vaccine verification systems is that many countries, including the United States, have relied on paper proof of vaccinations, which can easily be forged. In the European Union, national health authorities will be responsible for verifying existing proofs of vaccination, Michael and Quentin reported. In response to privacy concerns about the system, the European Commission has built what it calls a "gateway" that will verify the certificates across the E.U., but does not store individuals' data. All data that needs to be retained for the system to work is stored in the country that issued the individual their certificate. The commission also helped countries develop national software to securely and privately issue and store the certificates. A patchwork of different systems is emerging in the United States. The White House said last month the federal government will not play a role in developing a standardized vaccine passport. In sharp contrast to the system that will be used across the E.U., the U.S. private sector and individual states are developing their own systems. But there are concerns about a lack of a standard approach, which might mean people will need multiple passes for different activities. "When you think about standards, we should have one, but we have at least five organizations coming up with standards," Eric Piscini, the team lead for IBM's digital health pass, told my colleague Rachel Lerman. "We are working with all five and will be compatible with all five." The states and private sector efforts have had mixed results. Most businesses aren't requiring proof of vaccination for people to enter their premises. New York was one of the first states to launch a free passport app, called the Excelsior Pass. My colleague Geoffrey A. Fowler found that it had strong privacy protections, but that it was also easy to fake your vaccination status. About 1.1 million Excelsior Passes have been downloaded as of last week according to the New York Times. But that's only a fraction of the more than 9 million New Yorkers who have been vaccinated. They're being used to confirm vaccination status at concert venues and arenas.  Fans arrive to directions to the vaccinated or unvaccinated sections prior to the game between the New York Islanders and the Pittsburgh Penguins. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | Hawaii has recently rolled out a vaccine passport for inter-island travel, which was initially only available to people immunized on the islands. This patchwork of vaccine passport systems is unlikely to ever take off nationally in the United States. Several states including Florida, Georgia and Alabama have already banned the use of vaccine passports. The passports became a front in the pandemic culture wars after Republicans criticized them as government or corporate encroachment on individuals' rights. | 
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