Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, Jul 06, 2025

The vaccine passport debate isn't new. It started in 1897 during a plague pandemic

The vaccine passport debate isn't new. It started in 1897 during a plague pandemic

Vaccine passports have been touted by some as our ticket to normalcy -- easily accessible proof of immunization and a reward for those who got their shots. They've also been called invasive and ineffective.

The debate over proof of vaccination as a requirement for entry dates back more than 120 years. The first time certificates of vaccines were required, health officials were fighting a plague pandemic.

In the 1890s, the Government of British India enacted a series of measures in an attempt to stop the spread of the plague, which included requiring travelers to prove they'd been vaccinated against the bacterial disease.

But colonized people living in India then saw government-mandated vaccine certificates as an invasive measure meant to curb travel and control citizens' movements. Officials struggled to enforce the requirement as they were outnumbered by people traveling across the country.

Today's concept of a vaccine "passport" isn't much different: It's proof of vaccination -- either on paper or in digital form -- that grants someone access or entry to venues, foreign countries and other locations. It's meant to keep those who haven't been vaccinated out of public areas where they could transmit the coronavirus -- and reward people who've been vaccinated with a return to somewhat normal life.

The "Excelsior Pass" is New York's digital pass that people can dowload to show proof of vaccination.


The US federal government won't require vaccine passports or issue them, so the passports' viability lies with the states.

New York is already testing its digital vaccine passport, the Excelsior Pass app. Meanwhile, Florida and Texas' Republican governors signed orders prohibiting the passports, both citing privacy issues. All three states have seen some of the country's highest numbers of Covid-19 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

If history is any indication, the adoption of vaccine passports won't happen smoothly or all at once. They were difficult to enforce in the 1890s -- and if more Americans and international citizens resist, the same could be true in 2021 and beyond.

Colonized people of India rejected vaccine passports


The vaccine verification debate goes back to the 1890s, during the third global plague pandemic. The scientist who created the first effective vaccine for a bacterial disease, Dr. Waldemar Haffkine, had joined the Government of India while it was under British rule and was commissioned to stymy the spread of the plague in the country, said Rene Najera, an infectious disease epidemiologist and editor of the History of Vaccines project, led by the private medical society The College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

Haffkine eventually repeated the success of his anti-cholera vaccine with a vaccine for the plague, which he initially used to inoculate himself and incarcerated people in a Bombay jail, Najera said.

Dr. Waldemar Haffkine


But tensions between government officials and colonized peoples were already high by that time, he said, and came to a head in 1897, when the Epidemic Diseases Act was passed. The legislation gave officials permission to take public health measures that citizens considered "very intrusive," Najera said.

Health officials would force plague patients out of their homes, often with the help of local police or the military, and burn down rat-infested buildings, since the rodents were known to spread the plague. Citizens were also required to carry vaccination certificates.

The measures taken by British officials led to civil unrest across the country, through work strikes and demonstrations that often turned violent. As a result, many colonized people began leaving crowded urban centers for homes in regions where the colonial government was less present.

The problem, Najera said, was that those citizens brought the plague with them.

Officials in British India were concerned about Hindu and Muslim pilgrimage sites, as well, where thousands of people could gather at once, Sanjoy Bhattacharya, a University of York history professor, told NPR last week.

Najera said the pilgrimages "were only part of the impetus for certificates of immunization."

"It was just one of the many things the government tried to do to stop the mass exodus from cities with plague."

Not that requiring certificates halted travel -- the sheer number of people moving around India proved the control measures ineffective, Najera said.

"While certificates were required, the enforcement was lax or nearly impossible to do," he said. "And, if it was done in a way that inhibited the movement of people who were already upset and escaping the plague epidemic in their own city, violence would erupt."

One kind of vaccine passport still exists


There's one version of the vaccine passport that's been implemented: The "yellow card," or proof of vaccination for yellow fever that some countries require of travelers to prevent the spread of the disease.

It's the only disease specifically mentioned in the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Health Regulations, though many countries set their own requirements for vaccinations. (Najera noted that countries like New Zealand and Australia required the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine for travelers during the resurgence of measles in 2019.)

It's up to countries on how to enforce or proceed the WHO's guidelines, Najera said.

But in the US, the power to enforce proof of vaccination would belong to the states and local officials. The White House said last week that while the Biden administration supports setting standards for people to prove they're vaccinated, it won't issue vaccine passports or mandate vaccine credentials.

The US adopted a piecemeal approach to the pandemic when it first began in March 2020, largely entrusting states to make their own guidelines on wearing masks, limiting the capacity of buildings and other ways of mitigating residents' risk of Covid-19 transmission.

And if some states are already prohibiting the use of vaccine passports while others encourage it, the US could see imperfect enforcement, too.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Qatar Airways Clears Backlog of Passengers Following Missile Threats
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
×