Even before Covid-19, companies and nonprofits had been promoting the benefits of digital and biometric IDs. The need for a speedy and comprehensive vaccination campaign has emboldened them, to the point that privacy campaigners are increasingly discomfited.

Without vials, needles or adjuvants, a vaccine is just a fine formula, a cure in search of its disease. When a Covid-19 vaccine is finally approved for manufacture, the rush to stock up on ancillary products will be unprecedented.