SHOW US YOUR PAPERS: Wilmington Company Unveils ‘Vaccine ID Cards’

WILMINGTON – A Port City firm named CastleBranch is launching a ‘digital vaccine passport,’ or vaccine ID cards, to aid in cementing Pandemic Panic through stratifying society into the provably vaccinated and everyone else.

WRAL Techwire reports on the dystopian product (emphasis added):

“[…] The Wilmington-based firm, supported by anti-counterfeit technology, is now issuing Real Vaccination ID cards as proof for the COVID-19 vaccination.

“Tracking, storing and reviewing complex medical documents – including vaccine records – is what we do,” its CEO Brett Martin, who founded the the agency more than 20 years ago, told WRAL TechWire.

“If we can help people prove their COVID-19 vaccination status and help them return to everyday life — then that’s a summit worth climbing.” […]

Currently, many organizations, including the CDC, only issue paper forms to confirm an individual’s vaccination status.

In contrast, CastleBranch ID cards will be paired with a unique access code. With permission, that code can be used to electronically verify an individual’s identity and vaccination status, and view their validated vaccine documents.

The cards also include anti-counterfeit technology such as ultraviolet ink, microtext, holographic film and silver foil to prevent fraud and forgery.

“Third parties can accept the physical card as is, knowing the security features included in the card, as well as independent review by an accredited organization, was completed to obtain the card,” Martin said. […]”

So, reading in between the lines, we’re moving toward a world where proof of vaccination (via vaccine ID cards like this) is going to be expected, of not required, for individuals to return to everyday life?

The ominous nature of this is clear enough, but it doesn’t even need to be the government implementing or enforcing such policies. Arguably, the levers of popular commerce and culture are more powerful, and thus more ominous, in applying the ‘show us your papers’ paradigm.

Want to get on a plane? Go to a concert? Join a gym? Attend a conference? Apply for a job? Go to a movie? Book dinner reservations? Show us your papers.

Will the non-vaccinated face a wall of social pressure and isolation? It’s the kind of thing people worry about when they hear Bill Gates musing about micromanaging the world:

To be sure, the CEO of CastleBranch says he is not interested in participating in comprehensive nationwide initiatives undertaken by Big Tech who want to standardize and collect and report on people’s personal medical data/vaccine status.

“[…] “Unfortunately, many big tech companies have a track record of collecting, selling or using an individual’s private data in ways that we simply do not agree with,” he said.

“Individuals should own their own data – control their personal self-sovereign digital identities – not advertisers or search engines. Real Vaccination ID is our initial offering to help people collect and control their own personal data to help them progress through life.” […]”

While this perspective is an encouraging one, on the data privacy front, it is of little reassurance concerning the practical implications of rolling out vaccine credentials to enable a person’s return to normal life.

Read more about the vaccine ID cards here.