IN what is set to become the new norm in a Covid disrupted world, a Malaysian health passport was used for the first time by a passenger flying into Singapore from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

The Immunitee app was used to digitally verify the swab test results of the passenger, said Immunitee chief executive officer Dr Nick Boden.

The passenger, who boarded his flight at KLIA on Saturday, submitted to a RT-PCR swab test at a Qualitas Medical Group clinic, and had his results electronically stored on a public blockchain.

This allowed Singapore immigration to scan for his results via the Immunitee app for admission.

“Immunitee has successfully reached this crucial milestone. We believe that our strength lies in how we take data security and confidential information seriously.

“The ‘new normal’ will require travellers to share sensitive personal data and confidential healthcare information with many different governments and authorities.

“We feel Immunitee can be an important solution to help make users feel more comfortable and open up air travel bubbles faster,” said Boden in a statement today.

He said the app allowed users to store Covid-19 swab test results on a public blockchain for the highest form of data security that prevents fraudulent results from being used to board flights.

“Paperless, digitally verifiable swab test results are becoming more crucial as the number of fake PDF copies of tests and vaccine certificates becomes increasingly more common and threatens to delay the opening up of air travel bubbles.

 “The combination of digital health passports and a solution to securely verify these digital health credentials adds another layer of security that prevents passengers, who do not comply with safe travel regulations, from travelling,” he added.

He said Immunitee could play an important role in moving people in and out of Johor and into Singapore quickly and safely.

“Ultimately, we want to provide easily verifiable digital health credentials that are designed to give travellers a pleasant and hassle-free experience when travelling.”

He said through the Immunitee network of partner laboratories and clinics in Malaysia and other Asean countries, and its authentication on an universal verification system, a seamless, convenient and safe travel experience was now possible.

With Immunitee providing a single vaccine registry management system, Boden said that expansion plans are on the cards too.

He said they were currently working on expanding into other Asean countries, the United Kingdom and South Africa, to allow more people to safely store their healthcare information on the blockchain.

“We are confident the other regional and international countries we are liaising with can easily and effectively adopt our solution to ensure easily verifiable data and hassle-free safe travel moving forward.

Malaysian borders, like others around the world, have been closed since last year due to the pandemic. International  travel is only expected to pick up again after vaccination of a large swathe of the world population. – April 14, 2021.