On Enhancing the COVID-19 Certification System for the Digitally-Illiterate People Inclusion in the European Union
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- How can the COVID-19 certification system in its current form be enhanced for digitally illiterate individuals?
- What are the barriers to the digital format for those lacking digital proficiency, and how can they be mitigated?
- How can healthcare executives adapt the proposed enhancements for inclusive mobility needs and a broader range of stakeholders?
2. Current “Digital” Landscape in the Times of COVID-19
2.1. Current COVID-19 Certification System in the European Union
2.2. The Current State of Digital Divide in Context of COVID-19 and Health Policy
- First-level: access to digital tools and digitized equipment.
- Second-level: effective use of digital solutions and e-skills possession.
- Third-level: ability to deploy digital resources to reach specific objectives (performance linked with ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and offline outcomes).
- Regional limitations in access to broadband Internet.
- Sociological and cultural conditions cause mistrust and failure to meet expectations.
- The level of education directly influences the level of digital literacy.
- Unstable economic situation of the household, results in the inability to afford an electronic device.
- Failure to adjust the level of technological advancement of the solutions used in the (public) health industry to the skills of an ordinary patient.
3. On Enhancing the Current COVID-19 EU Certification System—Propositions
- Uniting the personal identification number (and thus the ID card) with the COVID-19 certificate.
- Issuance of a hard copy of a certificate immediately after having a negative test of SARS-CoV-2 presence or full vaccination.
- Mailing the vaccination/recovery certificate.
- Increasing the number of accessible community centers for assistance in the issuance of paper/digital certificates.
3.1. Uniting the Personal Identification Number with a COVID-19 Certificate
3.2. Issuance of a Hard-Copy Certificate after Having a SARS-CoV-2 Presence Test or Vaccination
3.3. Mailing the Vaccination/Recovery Certificate
3.4. Increasing the Number of Accessible Community Centers for Assistance in Issuance of COVID-19 Certificate
4. Discussion
5. A Word of Conclusion
5.1. Limitations of the Study
5.2. Directions for Further Research
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
References
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Property\Form of Enhancement | EU Digital COVID Certificate in the Current Form | Unifying Personal ID with COVID Certificate | Issuance of a Printout after a Vaccination/Negative Test | Mailing a Plastic Form of Certificate |
---|---|---|---|---|
Form of identification | QR code with a digital signature—mobile application or printout (hard copy) | Additionally: presentation of an ID card or passport (instead of showing a QR code) | Same as in the current form of EU Digital COVID Certificate (QR code with a digital signature—hard copy) | Plastic card (similar to ID) with the QR code and all the necessary information of vaccination |
Voluntariness | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Level of convenience for digitally-illiterates | Low | Very high | Low/mediocre | High |
Convenience—description | Necessity to have a mobile application or a printout (besides a personal ID) | Only having a personal ID (or a passport) is sufficient | Necessity to have a printout (besides a personal ID) | Necessity to have a plastic certificate |
Capabilities/permissions | Defined by EU bodies and national governments | Defined by EU bodies and national governments | Defined by EU bodies and national governments | Defined by EU bodies and national governments |
Waiting time for issuance | Immediately | Immediately (after getting a consent) | Immediately (long time—if it’s sent via traditional mail) | Very long time (production + delivery time) |
Potential data breach | Low | High | Low | Very low |
Amount of additional data captured | Not applicable | Very high | Not applicable—the same amount of data as is captured in the case of the current system | Not applicable—the same amount of data as is captured in the case of the current system |
Additional consent | Acceptance of the internal regulations | May be required (cf. “the principle of data minimization”—GDPR) | May be required (cf. “the principle of data minimization”—GDPR) | May be required (cf. “the principle of data minimization”—GDPR) |
Requirement to have a digital device | Yes (in order to print the certificate or download it to a mobile device) | No | No | No |
Sustainability issues | Only the digital form is sustainable | Sustainable | Not sustainable (paper usage, energy consumption) | Not sustainable (paper envelopes, road transport, plastic involvement) |
Cost of implementation | Not applicable | Low | Low | High (production and creating a new distribution path) |
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Hadasik, B.; Mach-Król, M. On Enhancing the COVID-19 Certification System for the Digitally-Illiterate People Inclusion in the European Union. Digital 2024, 4, 182-194. https://doi.org/10.3390/digital4010009
Hadasik B, Mach-Król M. On Enhancing the COVID-19 Certification System for the Digitally-Illiterate People Inclusion in the European Union. Digital. 2024; 4(1):182-194. https://doi.org/10.3390/digital4010009
Chicago/Turabian StyleHadasik, Bartłomiej, and Maria Mach-Król. 2024. "On Enhancing the COVID-19 Certification System for the Digitally-Illiterate People Inclusion in the European Union" Digital 4, no. 1: 182-194. https://doi.org/10.3390/digital4010009