The world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccinations are seemingly the only way out. Vaccination cards have been a great way to track vaccinations and provide evidence. Cases of fake vaccination cards have been on the rise as well.
Globally and for different reasons, there have been an increasing number of cases where authorities have found culprits who forge COVID-19 vaccination cards. These cases seem to be on the rise in almost every country.
From the recent Nova Scotia, Canada arrest of a fifty-year-old forger to the 400 vaccination card forgery investigation cases in France, it seems criminals are hellbent on making something of the pandemic. The world teeters on the edge of another rise in cases.
It may look like such cases may have a negligible effect on the global efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. But the dangers of forging vaccination cards are much bigger than the perpetrators imagine.
The corruption of data affects the ability of doctors and epidemiologists to determine coronavirus’ spread. Inaccurate data has led to many mishaps, including a greater viral spread and the sudden surfacing of new COVID strains.
The sudden emergence of the new COVID Omicron strain is one such example. They did not detect the Omicron strain in time, partly because of the preponderance of inaccurate data based on forged vaccination cards. It is simple. The higher the number of fake vaccinations recorded in epidemiology models, the higher the number of errors made and the less effective such models become.
Then there is also the continued spread of the virus, which hasn’t reduced everywhere. All thanks to forgers and their enablers.
Even the centralized database systems that track such documents can have falsified records as data entries. Issues of insecurity and multiple access credentials have rocked centralized identity solutions before now. This lack of integrity has created a zero-sum situation for centralized solutions. Most of the world still prefers the old ways of doing things over centralized document verification services.
Blockchain-based document solutions seem to be the best bet to create tamper-proof vaccination records. That is in an age where conspiracy theories are outlandish.
Several solutions within the blockchain space serve as examples of how COVID-19 vaccination certificates are created and verified without worries. They are mentioned below.
Blockchain Document Certification Solutions
Grupo Sabra, one of Europe’s leading blockchain solutions establishments, has provided certain functions within its blockchain for verifying documents.
One great thing about its document verification is its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Adherence to GDPR standards assures the user’s origin and location. It also provides a globally-accepted operational framework for user data stored within the blockchain.
The cool thing about the GS Blockchain is its one-click technology that allows for ease-of-use in a world where all things blockchain have one form of Geek-Speak or the other.
Spanish Telecoms company Telefonica recently announced the launch of its blockchain-based document certification service. Verification will occur using the user’s digital signature, a timestamp, and the document’s digital footprint.
The service already exists internally and has been used to great success for email logs. The logs are viewable, but not the content. Telefonica has envisaged usage by members of the web3 space. Documents are one use-case scenario for the solution garnering interest.
Telefonica is no stranger to the blockchain space. Its Trust OS and blockchain hosting solutions are products in the same company.
Innovative software development company PixelPex has created a blockchain-based document solution. The solution allows for all kinds of flexibility within the Ethereum ecosystem.
The project has forked a C-Plus-Plus Ethereum node and allows for transaction fees in tokens. There is also an allowance for contract-based access restriction tools.
How is Blockademia Tackle the Problem?
Blockademia, a document publishing, and verification ecosystem, has made strides in verifying documents and preventing forgeries.
The ecosystem allows for document issuing. User components exist in one layer, while the blockchain ecosystem exists in another layer of its solution.
Blockademia’s graphical user interface (GUI) allows for customer flexibility. Document issuers can create records and issue documents within record time. The ecosystem uses ACI tokens for virtually any activity on the platform.
Working off the Cardano blockchain, Blockademia has taken things to another level. Cardano recently announced the launch of its Smart Contract compatibility, showing that the blockchain could become a major competitor within the decentralized application space. The onboarding of document ecosystems like Blockademia indicates much deeper utility beyond the realms of decentralized finance (DeFi).
It also shows that humanity may be in for a wild ride. As cities, metropolitan areas, and governments adopt cryptocurrencies, and their underlying technologies, systems like Blockademia will have a first-mover advantage. Because of the all-in-one approach.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spiral, we shall see further interventions of governments to stem the problem. Most of these measures will fail unless the forgeries of vaccination cards and certificates get sorted out.
Blockchain-oriented solutions hold the key to getting humanity out of this mess. And it might just be the white swan event the cryptocurrency space has been waiting for to increase web3 adoption. The oft-vaunted “boom!” moment.
It may also not occur that way unless the authorities have an “aha!” moment. One where the realization sets in on what blockchains can do, and how they can change events at a minimal cost.
Only then will the mass adoption of web3 technologies come to pass.
