What The Present (And Future) Of Vaccination Records Looks Like Here And Abroad, And The Ethical Issues That Come With Them

As more people get shots of the COVID-19 vaccine in their arms, more parts of society and the economy can potentially open. But amid a massive vaccine rollout with lots of people making their case for why they should be at the front of the line, how will local and state officials keep track of who has been vaccinated, and what potential ethical issues could arise from giving out this kind of documentation?

Today on AirTalk, we’ll talk with the CEO of a company that is working with Los Angeles County to provide digital vaccine records, sometimes called “passports” to county residents, and we’ll look at some of the ethical concerns that may arise with opening certain parts of society to those who have been vaccinated.

Guests:

Ramin Bastani, CEO of Healthvana, a Los Angeles-based company that provides patient platforms to healthcare providers; Healthvana has partnered with Los Angeles County to provide residents with digital vaccine records

Nicole Hassoun, visiting scholar at the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies at Cornell University, professor of philosophy at Binghamton University and author of  “Global Health Impact: Extending Access to Essential Medicines” (Oxford University Press, 2012); her recent piece in Scientific American is “How to Make ‘Immunity Passports’ More Ethical”; she tweets @kikseven2

As more people get shots of the COVID-19 vaccine in their arms, more parts of society and the economy can potentially open. But amid a massive vaccine rollout with lots of people making their case for why they should be at the front of the line, how will local and state officials keep track of who has been vaccinated, and what potential ethical issues could arise from giving out this kind of documentation?

Today on AirTalk, we’ll talk with the CEO of a company that is working with Los Angeles County to provide digital vaccine records, sometimes called “passports” to county residents, and we’ll look at some of the ethical concerns that may arise with opening certain parts of society to those who have been vaccinated.

Guests:

Ramin Bastani, CEO of Healthvana, a Los Angeles-based company that provides patient platforms to healthcare providers; Healthvana has partnered with Los Angeles County to provide residents with digital vaccine records

Nicole Hassoun, visiting scholar at the Mario Einaudi <eye-NOW-dee> Center for International Studies at Cornell University, professor of philosophy at Binghamton University and author of  “Global Health Impact: Extending Access to Essential Medicines” (Oxford University Press, 2012); her recent piece in Scientific American is “How to Make ‘Immunity Passports’ More Ethical”; she tweets @kikseven2