Update to No. 32 ~ June 20, 2021
Breaking news that I missed in yesterday's post
Thanks to observant reader AC, I’m posting this update that is good news for Americans planning to travel to France.
On June 17, the French changed their rules regarding Americans just as I was working on my article for No. 32, and I missed the change. In France’s “stoplight” system of grading countries for risk during the pandemic, the U.S. was moved from orange status to green. This means that vaccinated travelers are no longer required to be tested for Covid-19 before travel to France, and that non-vaccinated people can travel as usual, as long as they show a negative PCR test that is stamped less than 72 hours before their flight. An antigen test is also listed as acceptable. Australia and Canada are among the other countries now on France’s “green” list.
Other recent news adds nuance to my comments in No. 32 about the U.S. and digital health passes. There is some movement toward providing these digital certificates to Americans, but the efforts are spotty.
A summary was provided on June 18 by Concepcion de Leon in an article for the New York Times.
She says that IBM has partnered with the biometric screening company Clear to provide a digital pass, but it’s not “clear” (couldn’t resist!) what’s happening with that effort. Clear’s website is closed to public view “to protect itself from online attacks.”
Also, it appears that those who were vaccinated at a Walgreens store can use the company's mobile app to obtain a digital pass.
The International Air Transport Association (I.A.T.A.) is developing its own travel pass app. It sounds good, but seems to be in a kind of beta version. The airline you choose to use may not yet be participating in the trial.
And of course New York State has its Excelsior Pass, but that doesn’t help those who are not New Yorkers.
According to my reading, the U.S. federal government is not interested in organizing a nationwide digital travel certificate, the way the French and European Union governments are.
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