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Sunday 13 June 2021

Vaccine Passports. Prospects and Problems

 Vaccine Passports
Prospects and Problems



I Lead-in.

a)    Think about the steps countries take to exit lockdown and restore economy after Covid pandemic. What can we do to make sure people stay healthy when they leave their homes, go back to work or even travel?

b)    What digital applications or computer programs can help people to live a healthy life after lockdowns? Would you like to use such applications in future? Why or why not?

 II Match the words to their definitions. Use five words in your sentences.

 

1.   

abroad

      A.    

existing not for a long time

2.   

to kick-start

       B.    

to remove something

3.   

lockdown 

        C.    

older person

4.   

jab   

        D.    

someone who is paid to work for someone else

5.   

to lift

       E.     

a situation when people are not allowed to freely enter or leave an area or  building because of danger

6.   

to prevent

       F.     

confidential information

7.   

spread

        G.    

to make something start more quickly

8.   

domestically

       H.    

people’s right to have their personal matters and relationships secret

9.   

to prime

       I.       

line of people waiting for something

10.           

inequality

      J.      

a program on mobile phone that determines people’s contacts and checks if they met infected individuals

11.           

senior

      K.    

to a foreign country

12.           

temporary

      L.     

a time when a disease or something unpleasant suddenly begins

13.           

employee

       M.   

resistance to the spread of an infectious disease resulting from the fact that many people have immunity

14.           

queue

       N.    

using a needle to put medicine into a person’s body

15.           

misuse

       O.    

the process of passing something from one person to another

16.           

sensitive data 

        P.     

the growth of something that affects a lot of people

17.           

contact tracing app

      Q.    

to prepare

18.           

herd immunity

       R.    

to stop something from happening

19.           

outbreak

      S.     

unfair situation

20.           

privacy

      T.     

inside a country

21.           

transmission

      U.    

use of something in a wrong or unsuitable way

  

III Watch the video above and fill in the gaps with the words from the list. There are some words you don’t need to use.

 



certificate; letting; diseases; freedoms; travel; passports; lockdown; vaccine; vaccinated; prove; release; lifting

 Vaccine 1) ______ are coming. Someday soon you may need to prove your Covid status to go to the pub, 2) ______ abroad or even go to work.  Governments hope these passes could be key to kick-starting the economy and restoring basic 3) ______. But could this come at a cost to individuals?

      The weekend is underway in Tel Aviv in Israel. Restaurants here only recently reopened from 4) ______, but Covid-19 feels like a distant memory. The reason, the green pass, an app that lets you 5) ______ you've had the jab.

-      You know, as a chef it’s made me happy, like it's a huge joy.  We feel like we see colours again.

 Israel is winning the global vaccination race. Most over 40s are now fully 6) ______, and if you've had both jabs, the green pass opens doors giving you access to restaurants,  hotels  and gyms.

- I saw a lot of young people, that it was for them the incentive to do it. They wanted to come back to life, actually, more than a paper, green paper. Just come back to life.

The green pass might be new, but vaccine passports are not. Travellers to regions with yellow fever already need to carry a vaccination 7) ______. And children attending public school in America must be vaccinated for several 8) ______. But governments are now paying keen attention to schemes like the green pass.

- EU leaders have agreed to develop a Covid-19 vaccine.

- Digital vaccine passports that could to see if…

They could be key to 9) ______ lockdowns. But how well would they actually work?

 

 IV Watch the video and choose the correct option to complete the sentences.



Vaccine passports might not be that effect/effective/effectively for two reasons. First, although vaccines prevent serious ill/unless/illness, it's not yet clear how effectively they stop the spread/read/sprawl of Covid-19 particularly for new variants. So vaccinated people could potentially still passport/pass/passive Covid on to others. Second, vaccine passports are only useless/useful/usefully for a very limited window domestically.

- They're not very useful early on because there's not many people who fit/beneficial/benefit. And they're not very useful late on either because vaccines work in two ways: they work by protecting you, by priming your ammunition/immunity/immune system so that if you meet an infection, you're ready to fight it off. But they also work by making sure that you mostly won't meet infection/infected/infecting because other people around you are vaccinated too.

If as in Israel most people have been vaccinated, then the chances of meeting an infected person are low. So a vaccine passport adds little additional protective/protected/protection. However, in places that are taking longer to vaccinate, like the EU, these passports could be useful for much longer to help reopen the economist/economy/money.

But could Covid passports create new qualities/inequality/quality?

Most countries are vaccinating old people first. And some think vaccine passports could risk creating a two-tiered society/socially/socially where vaccinated seniors can resume normal life, while the young are stuck inside waiting for the jab.

- So the vaccine passport is quite a temporary thing that maybe governed/regiments/governments just use as one tool as they exit lockdown. If the government is quick, and fair and transparent about it, I think that sort of issue of unfairness will seem reasonable.  It's unfairness for a bigger fairness.

In Israel relatively few under-16s have had the jab, so they can't go inside restoration/restaurants/restarted. But most seem willing to make this small sacrifice or not eat out at all if it's too cold.

- We got yesterday, like seven guests, one of them was like 16 years old, and it was pretty cold outside. And they asked, they understand, they said, we’ve got the coat and all. Good, you know, we have to protect each other.

 

V Watch the video again. Are the sentences true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false statements.

 

1.    There is only one reason why vaccine passports might not be very effective.  

2.    It's not yet clear how effectively vaccines stop the spread of Covid-19.

3.    Doctors say that vaccines can stop the spread of all Covid variants.  

4.    Vaccinated people could  still pass Covid on to others.  

5.    Vaccines protect people; they guarantee that people will never get infected.  

6.    Vaccines also work by making sure that people mostly won't meet infection because other people around them are vaccinated too.  

7.    In Israel most people have been vaccinated, the chances of meeting an infected person are low, so a vaccine passport adds little additional protection.  

8.    In the EU  Covid vaccination is taking longer than in Israel.  

9.    Most countries are vaccinating young people first.  

10.In some society vaccinated young people can go back to normal life, while the old are waiting for the jab.  

11.The vaccine passport is quite a temporary thing and one of the tools countries use as they exit lockdown.  

 

VI Watch the video and choose the correct option to complete the sentences.



1.    Some businesses have already said they'll require ________ from new employees.

a)   full body checkup             b)    proof of vaccination              c)  two Covid-19 tests

2.    Some businesses from _________ want to make vaccination a requirement.

a) kindergartens to design firms  b) care homes to lifeguard c)  care homes to plumbing firms

3.    This could make it harder for the _____ to find work.

a)  unvaccinated         b)        vaccinated                 c)  unemployment

4.     We require people in certain sensitive jobs, for example, in the armed forces or working in certain ____ settings to have all their vaccines.

a)   healthy                    b)  healing                               c)  healthcare

5.      Across 39 states in America the vaccination rate among white people is over twice as high as the rate for ____ people.

a)    historically                   b)  Hispanic                               c)  Spain

6.    Across 39 states in America the vaccination rate among white people is nearly ___ as high as the rate for black people.

a)  thin            b)   two                    c)  twice

7.    Black Americans are on average ___ than whites meaning they're further back in the vaccine queue.

a) younger                      b)        older                         c)  more youthful

8.    Black Americans are less likely to ____ the vaccine because of a long history of misuse of health data and bad vaccine programs.

a)    trust                   b)      track                           c)  trialled

9.    Countries  can avoid inequality problems linked to vaccination  if Covid passports are restricted to certain ______.

a)  professional codes                     b)   key professions                  c)  few professioanls

10.There are also concerns over _____: you need proof of vaccination to access many aspects of normal life, and some people feel they had no choice but to have the jab.

a)  freedom of choice       b)          freedom of speech                       c)  freedom of movement

11.In Israel if you're not vaccinated, you can't go to the ___, and you can’t leave the country.

 a)  gallery                     b)       gym                          c)  picnic

 

VII Watch the video and put the sentences in the correct order.

 


A.   The government shared the information from the contact tracing app with the police to fight crime.

B.   A vaccine passport is based on sensitive health data.

C.   In Singapore the government used a contact tracing app (it identifies people’s close contact to find people who have been infected with the coronavirus) to stop the spread of Covid-19.

D.   Now developers working on vaccine passports promise to design them in a way that will share minimal personal data.

E.    Some people worry governments will be able to get more information about their citizens.

F.    One of the biggest concerns around Covid passports is data privacy.

 

VIII Watch the video. Complete the sentences with the words you hear.

 


One area where development is racing ahead is international 1) _____. There are already several digital 2) _____apps in development that allow people to prove they’re Covid-free and, in time, vaccinated.

- If you want people to be able to 3) _____between countries that are at incredibly different stages in their journey towards conquering Covid, you might decide that you only allow people to cross borders if you could think of them as Covid safe.

Countries like Israel, America, and Britain may be racing towards herd 4) _____, but large parts of Africa may not get the jab for at least the next two years. A Covid passport would let 5) _____people cross borders and provide a welcome boost to crippled economies. Countries like Greece have already said they will welcome vaccinated Brits this summer, but 6) _____shouldn't pack their bags just yet.  A third wave of the virus is sweeping much of Europe, and vaccinated holidaymakers could still cause local outbreaks of 7) _____.  

-        Any tourists who arrive, even if they're vaccinated, they're going to be a reason that unvaccinated Greeks are coming out and mingling and that will increase the number of 8) cases. It's really a trade-off, it's a trade-off here between getting the economy going again and increasing the number of cases. Governments need to be really really transparent about that to explain to people. This is the hard choice that's in front of us. What do you think, what are the trade-offs that you would find acceptable?

Israel’s 9) _____is predicted to grow by up to 7.5 per cent this year if the vaccination program continues at its current rate, but it remains to be seen how long this 10) _____pass effect will last. Vaccine passports are just one of many useful tools to help restart the 11) _____economy. And although developers already overcoming concerns about privacy and security, their domestic success will depend on how well the 12) _____themselves prevent transmission of Covid-19 and how quickly countries can reach herd immunity.

 

IX Watch the video again and answer the questions.

1.    How can digital health apps help international tourism?  

2.    How would vaccine passport work for international tourists?  

3.    What will be the dangers of having many tourists with vaccine passports going to other countries?    

4.    What problems do developers and governments have to solve before vaccine passports begin to work?  

 X OVER TO YOU. Think about the vaccine passports described in the videos and discuss the potential for their development and use in your country. Focus on the following questions: A) What problems connected with vaccine passports do all parts of the video list? Which of the problems in your opinion are the most serious and important in your country? B) How effective in your opinion would vaccine passports be? Would many people in your country want to have vaccine passports or use digital apps to prove they’re vaccinated? C) In what jobs would people be required to have vaccine passports? D) What problems can the use of the vaccine passports help to solve? E) What problems can the use of the vaccine passports create for the people and governments? What alternative solutions for the problem controlling the spread of Covid can you suggest?


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