by S BIRRUNTHA / pic credit: Immunitee

MALAYSIA’S health passport public-blockchain-based app, Immunitee, has successfully completed its first live passenger verification from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Singapore on April 10 using a paperless and secure blockchain-based electronic Covid-19 swab test digital result.

The Singaporean passenger did his RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) swab test at a Qualitas Medical Group Clinic, and had his results electronically stored directly onto the blockchain allowing his QR code in the Immunitee app to be successfully read and accepted by immigration in Singapore.

Immunitee CEO Datuk Dr Nick Boden (picture) said the app allows users to store Covid-19 swab test results on a public blockchain, ensuring the highest form of data security and preventing fraudulent test results from being used to board planes.

He added that the passport offers a seamless, convenient and safe travel experience through its network of partner laboratories and clinics in Malaysia and other Asean countries, as well as its authentication on Affinidi’s universal verification system.

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

“The ‘new normal’ will require travellers to share sensitive personal data and confidential healthcare information with many different governments and authorities, and we feel Immunitee can be an important solution to help make users feel more comfortable and open up air travel bubbles faster,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Additionally, Dr Boden noted that paperless, digitally verifiable swab test results are becoming more crucial as fake PDF copies of tests and vaccine certificates become increasingly common while threatening 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.

“Our successful live proof of concept and the presence of Affinidi’s universal verification system at the Causeway also mean that Immunitee can 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 added.

Meanwhile, speaking on Immunitee’s expansion plans, Dr Boden said his team is currently working on expanding into other Asean countries, as well as the UK and South Africa, to allow more people to safely store their healthcare information on the blockchain.

He added that Immunitee provides a single vaccine registry management system that unites private and public healthcare systems while simultaneously protecting confidential patient information.

Thus, he is confident that other regional and international countries that it is liaising with can easily and effectively adopt their solution to ensure easily verifiable data and hassle-free safe travel moving forward.