UK Edition The Government is funding at least eight different vaccine passport schemes, despite claims from ministers that there are “no plans” for a roll-out across the country, the Telegraph can disclose.
Transparency documents from innovation agency InnovateUK have shown that more than £450,000 worth of government grants have been allocated to companies developing vaccine passports - where users can prove digitally that they have received a Covid-19 vaccine.
Vaccine passports are being considered by many countries including Cyprus, who hope their use would open up society for people who have already received a coronavirus vaccine.
It comes as over-50s travel firm travel company Saga said that anybody going on one of its holidays or cruises in 2021 must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
The revelation will raise the prospect that Britain could end up using vaccine passports, despite the Government saying they were not under consideration.
The Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove told BBC Breakfast on December 1 there were no plans to introduce the passports, saying: "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, that's not the plan."
On January 14 this year vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi also said there were “no plans to introduce vaccine passports”. He added: “No one has been given or will be required to have a vaccine passport.”
Last month the Telegraph reported biometrics firm iProov and cybersecurity company Mvine had teamed up to create a health passport for a £75,000 Government project.
In the InnovateUK filings, this project was still listed as one which could map antibody tests, although the Telegraph reported last week that the team had later switched to instead pivot into vaccination passports.
In total, this could mean at least half a million pounds has been allocated to projects to trial vaccination passports.
Other tech firms working on projects include Enduring Net, which is working on a £49,678.00 decentralised system which can digitally provide “proofs of individuals' Covid-19 credentials”, which will include proof of vaccination.
The Hub Company is also working on a £49,448 project in which it is developing security systems which can issue secure digital or physical certificates proving immunity or vaccine results.
EAS Technologies' £173,877 project is an accreditation platform which will gather information such as vaccination certificates and health passports, to help the “global sporting and events industry to get back to hosting sporting and live events".
Biotip's £49k project is for an app which could electrically detect anti-viral antibodies similar to a home pregnancy test.
It is hoped this could be used as an immunity passport to allow individuals with immunity to return to work. Biotip's £37,209k project is to develop “ultra-secure user verification and authentication” for indemnity passports, which are aimed at the post-vaccination immunity and is said to be "more reliable in respect of both immunity and infectiousness”.
Finally Mvine and iProov's £75,000 project is for a passport which would be issued in the form of a free app so users could digitally prove if they have received the vaccine.
Flight operator, Qantas, which has currently grounded all its flights, said passengers would also be required to show proof that they have taken a Covid-19 vaccine before they can embark on international travel. It comes as the Seychelles this week became the first country in the world to reopen to visitors who have received two doses of an authorised vaccine for Covid-19
The documents show that one company, Verifiable Credentials, was planning to create “Covid-19 certificates” that would show whether people had been immunised and could not be easily forged. It said the certificates would be cryptographically-protected, and could be produced on smartphones or for those without smartphones, in a physical form.
Another, EYN, said it “simply aims to link face-biometry with immunity status”. It said in order to protect the most vulnerable people “let's take a step towards proving immunity”. The company sees it as critical that there is not a centralised database.
All the projects are understood to have been part of the £40m government competition to “respond to new and urgent needs in UK and global communities during and following the Covid-19 pandemic” last April.
InnovateUK funded hundreds of different projects in the space. There is no onus on the Government to use the technology developed, and those receiving grants could also sell the concepts to private companies, such as airlines.
A number of the projects are still ongoing, and are not due to finish until later this year, the filings showed.
The comments were echoed by the Department of Health and Social Care, who this weekend also said: "As with other vaccination programmes, a vaccine record card will be issued to patients with the relevant details about the vaccine, including the date of their vaccination and their vaccine type. But this card is not an immunity passport and cannot not be used as a form of identification.”