Thread by @opinion

After months stuck at home, many of us are dreaming of a vacation abroad.

But while vaccines will certainly hasten the return of international travel, we'll need more than shots to get back to some kind of normal trib.al/zc4cuvu

The European Union, with its close borders and intergovernmental relationships, can help pave the way.

Testing and travel guidelines for its own region could set a standard for the rest of the world, if done well trib.al/c8czIUE

EU states currently differ over:

📆Quarantine periods
⏳Mandatory testing intervals
💉Treatment of vaccinated individuals
🗝Ability to test out of quarantine

Consistency is likely to improve compliance and lead to better results trib.al/c8czIUE

EU nations should settle on standardized testing protocols before, during and after travel. Rapid antigen tests are preferable to PCR tests because they’re:

➡️Faster
➡️Easier to give at the point of care
➡️Particularly adept at detecting infectious people trib.al/c8czIUE

The EU could contribute more to international genomic-sequencing efforts to provide a better assessment of emerging variants.

Currently there is too wide a gap between genomic surveillance even within developed nations trib.al/c8czIUE

More comprehensive and timely genomic-sequencing data would ensure that travel guidelines reflect current Covid risks trib.al/c8czIUE

Currently, infection rates are a key measure of risk in traveling to a given destination. But vaccination rates are also important.

An outbreak of mild Covid-19 in a country where most people are vaccinated is less dangerous, for example trib.al/c8czIUE

We need a better set of tools to decide which countries are at risk and which are not.

Europe can help set a standard for the world to follow, such as setting thresholds for Covid-19 cases based on growth rates relative to absolute levels trib.al/c8czIUE

The EU should also establish a health passport.

It’s already proposed a Digital Green Certificate, which would track test results and vaccination status in all member states trib.al/c8czIUE

A QR code that says “I’m vaccinated” is just the start. There’s work to be done to:

💉Agree on standards
💉Prevent certificate fraud

Passports will also have to expire depending on future discoveries about the longevity of protection trib.al/c8czIUE

Without set protocols and standards, it’ll be difficult to go back to the levels of international travel we enjoyed pre-Covid.

Europe can make travel within the continent both easier and more secure, while serving as an example for others to follow trib.al/c8czIUE